Health
- Details
- Written by: Morgen Wells
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Very few people diagnosed with pre-diabetes must plan meals around what they can and cannot cook in the middle of a forest during a 2,000 mile motorcycle trip, but Ben Cox-Frankenfield is one of them.
Cox-Frankenfield attended Sutter Lakeside Hospital’s Diabetes Education Day to learn more about building a healthy lifestyle without sacrificing the activities he loves, like riding his motorcycle.
“I bought my first motorcycle for six hundred dollars at age fourteen. I earned the money by cleaning swimming pools. I got $2 per pool,” said Cox-Frankenfield.
For him, motorcycles offer the freedom to wander from place to place with no set agenda or time constraints.
“A pre-diabetes diagnosis was a rude awakening,” said Cox-Frankenfield. “I’m re-educating myself on how to cook and what to eat.”
Patti Cox-Frankenfield attended with her husband in support of his diagnosis.
“I do most of the cooking, so I’m here to learn some new recipes,” she said.
Attendees of the event sampled quinoa salad, a recipe high in protein and low in sugar.
The event, which was coordinated between multiple departments of Sutter Lakeside Hospital, also provided free diabetic cook books, informational pamphlets, and resources for pre-diabetics and diabetics alike. Kathy Exum, RN, answered questions about managing diabetes or pre-diabetes.
“It’s important for you to be your own blood sugar detective,” said Exum. “Stress, illness, or medication can affect your blood sugar. I like for patients to have blood glucose meters to establish a baseline of what’s normal for that individual. Bodies can react differently to the same food, so it’s important for a patient to know what’s normal for him or her.”
Pharmacist intern Greg Matsumura answered questions about diabetes medication management and Medicare testing supplies.
“Your pharmacist is a great resource for questions about what’s covered under your Medicare plan,” said Matsumura. “Testing strips can be very expensive, so it’s important to pick a brand that’s right for your coverage.”
“This was a great event,” said Frank Cox-Frankenfield. “I feel like I learned a lot.”
Sutter Lakeside Hospital is providing free one-on-one counseling to pre-diabetic and diabetic patients with a doctor’s order, and a support group for pre-diabetic or diabetic patients and loved ones will be forming in January.
For more information about diabetes counseling, please call or email Kathy Exum at 707-262-5140 or
For more information about Sutter Lakeside Hospital, visit www.sutterlakeside.org or call 707-262-5121 to schedule a tour.
- Details
- Written by: Editor
Dogs and cats may provide their human companions with more than love and affection. From cancer and osteoarthritis to inflammatory bowel and heart disease, animals are afflicted with many of the same ailments found in people.
These correlations make companion animals ideal models for naturally occurring diseases, according to a collaborative group of UC Davis researchers.
The team – comprised of basic, translational, and clinical scientists in the School of Veterinary Medicine, the School of Medicine and the College of Engineering – presents a perspective on how the knowledge gained from veterinary medicine can serve as a bridge to not only better understand human diseases but also reduce failure rates of human clinical trials and accelerate the approval and delivery of new therapeutics for humans.
"Because they may provide better models for human disease, companion animals are now being considered critical links between basic and preclinical research in small-animal induced disease models and human clinical trials," said Dori Borjesson, a veterinary clinical pathologist and professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine. "Both veterinary and human patients benefit from this new translational research paradigm."
While rodent models of human disease are essential to basic research, they can be poor predictors of outcomes of human clinical trials, the team writes.
But the increasing participation of companion animals in clinical trials over the past several years has provided valuable insight for translational researchers.
Like humans, cats and dogs exhibit genetic variability, eat diverse diets, have varying personal habits and live in a wide range of environments – all of which play a role in various disease processes.
A recent example of the potential for translating to humans knowledge that was gained from animals involved reconstruction of mandibular (jaw) bone using a regenerative approach that is now in routine use at the UC Davis veterinary hospital.
Veterinary surgeons at UC Davis teamed with biomedical engineers to adapt cutting-edge technology to regrow missing mandibular bone in dogs.
That technique has been used on more than 20 dogs that have lost bone to injuries or removal of cancerous tumors. Researchers anticipate the procedure in canines will prove instrumental in solving this difficult problem in humans.
- Details
- Written by: Editor
LAKEPORT, Calif. – Sutter Lakeside Hospital announced Thursday that it has been recognized as a 2014 Top Performer on Key Quality Measures by The Joint Commission, the leading accreditor of health care organizations in the United States.
Sutter Lakeside was recognized as part of The Joint Commission’s 2015 annual report “America’s Hospitals: Improving Quality and Safety,” for attaining and sustaining excellence in accountability measure performance for pneumonia and surgical care.
Sutter Lakeside Hospital is one of only 1,043 hospitals out of more than 3,300 eligible hospitals in the United States to achieve the 2014 Top Performer distinction.
The Top Performer program recognizes hospitals for improving performance on evidence-based interventions that increase the chances of healthy outcomes for patients with certain conditions.
The performance measures included in the recognition program including heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, children’s asthma, inpatient psychiatric services, stroke, venous thromboembolism, perinatal care, immunization, tobacco treatment and substance use.
A total of 13 Sutter Health hospitals received Top Performer recognition today. Additional winners include:
Greater San Francisco Bay Area
· Eden Medical Center – Recognized for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care and perinatal care.
· Mills-Peninsula Health Services – Recognized for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care and perinatal care.
· Novato Community Hospital – Recognized for surgical care, venous thromboembolism (VTE) and stroke.
· Sutter Delta Medical Center – Recognized for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care and perinatal care.
· Sutter Lakeside Hospital – Recognized for pneumonia and surgical care.
· Sutter Maternity and Surgery Center, Santa Cruz – Recognized for surgical care and perinatal care.
· Sutter Santa Rosa Regional Hospital – Recognized for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, stroke and perinatal care.
Greater Sacramento and Central Valley Region
· Memorial Hospital Los Banos – Recognized for pneumonia and perinatal care.
· Sutter Auburn Faith Hospital – Recognized for pneumonia, surgical care, VTE and stroke.
· Sutter Davis Hospital – Recognized for pneumonia, surgical care. VTE and perinatal care.
· Sutter Solano Medical Center – Recognized for heart attack, heart failure, pneumonia, surgical care, stroke and perinatal care.
Crescent City
· Sutter Coast Hospital – Recognized for pneumonia, surgical care, VTE, stroke, immunization and perinatal care.
Ewa Beach, Hawaii
· Kahi Mohala Behavioral Health – Recognized for inpatient psychiatric services.
For more information about Sutter Lakeside Hospital, visit www.sutterlakeside.org or call 707-262-5121 to schedule a tour.
- Details
- Written by: Editor
UKIAH, Calif. – MCHC Health Centers recently named Jill Damian to the position of chief operations officer.
Damian has been with MCHC Health Centers since 2006, serving as department manager for the Care for Her women’s health program.
In this role, she worked closely with providers and staff, fostering the growth of the region’s most comprehensive women’s services provider in Mendocino County.
Prior to joining MCHC Health Centers, Damian spent four years as the executive director for the Potter Valley Community Health Center.
Damian holds a master’s degree in Pacific international affairs from the University of California, San Diego. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science from the University of California, Santa Barbara.
She is also 2014 graduate of the California Primary Care Association’s Health Management+ Program and a graduate of Leadership Mendocino.
“In this new position, I am able to continue working with our talented, committed professionals to support health throughout communities in Lake and Mendocino Counties,” she said.
Damian is dedicated to caring for local people – in part because her roots here are deep. Her family goes back seven generations in Mendocino County, and she and her husband, Jesse, are now busy raising the eighth generation: their three daughters.
Damian joins Chief Executive Officer Carole Press as part of MCHC Health Centers’ leadership team.
Together, they are reinforcing the organization’s commitment to caring for people in inland Mendocino County, and throughout Lake County via their three health centers: Hillside Health Center in Ukiah, Little Lake Health Center in Willits, and Lakeview Health Center in Lakeport.
MCHC Health Centers offer comprehensive services including primary medical care, pediatrics, dentistry, women’s health, counseling, psychiatry and specialty care.
For an appointment, call 707-468-1010. Learn more about MCHC Health Centers at www.mchcinc.org .