Has Hip Pain Got You Down?
Arthritis is one of the leading causes of hip pain. Nobody knows better than one 79-year-old the difference a new hip can make. Within two years, she had both hips replaced, one using the traditional method and the other using what’s known as a ‘jiffy hip’ procedure. In her own words, “With the new (anterior) … Continue Reading
Care Coordination at its Best
Editor’s Note: Sherry Norquist, Care Coordination Manager, contributed this story for Sentara Today. What is Care Coordination? The Sentara Leigh Hospital Care Coordination team focuses on meeting the patient’s plan of care at the bedside and beyond in collaboration with physicians, nurses, physical therapists, pharmacists, home care nurses, post-acute providers and the rest of a multidisciplinary … Continue Reading
Dr. Dan Via Returns to Work
Life can change in the blink of an eye. Small acts of kindness can mean the most. It takes a village… (L-R) Angela Morris (left) and Jennifer Sears (right) greet Dr. Dan Via upon his return to work at Sentara Pediatric Physicians.Pick the cliché and it is likely that Dr. Dan Via has a new appreciation for how deeply those commonly used phrases can be felt. The Williamsburg pediatrician was enjoying a vacation with his family in the Outer Banks of North Carolina when the very active 52 year-old caught a wave and fell off his boogie board head first into shallow water. His spinal cord injury left him unable to move. He was saved by some strangers on the beach who pulled him from the water. He was able to breathe on his own and he never lost consciousness, so he was able to speak and answer questions. But Via knew he could also not feel anything or move any parts of his body. Life can change in the blink of an eye. Local EMS responded and Via was flown by Nightingale Regional Air Ambulance from a fire station in North Carolina to Sentara Norfolk General Hospital for trauma care. Surgeons determined that he had disrupted ligaments and ruptured a disc between C3 and C4 of his spine. He had surgery to fuse his spine at C3 & 4, but the severe nature of his injury and bruising of his spinal cord left physicians unsure about Via’s prognosis. Via recalls hearing doctors talk about, “maybe being able to feed himself or possibly learn to walk again.” That is a tough reality for someone with a thriving pediatric medical practice, a wife and teenage children, and an active lifestyle that included cycling and teaching music.
Go Green to Get Lean
Health Coaches Encourage Members to Add Color to Their Diet. Has your waistband been pushed to its limits? Managing your weight is always challenging, especially when it is cold outside. Being inside for longer periods of time, may make it more tempting to nibble between meals and overeat during meals. Well the health coaches at Optima Health have a suggestion—Go … Continue Reading
Honoring an Exceptional Career
Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital Administrator Retires. It is with pride, gratefulness, and sadness that Sentara Healthcare says farewell to Dr. Raymond Troiano, president of Sentara Virginia Beach General Hospital, who will retire effective April 6, 2012. Dr. Troiano is a board certified neurologist. “Dr. Troiano has served as a practicing neurologist in the region … Continue Reading
Virginia Advance Directive Registry
Written by: David Cochran, MBA, MTh, Sentara Center for Healthcare Ethics You may have noticed some news coverage recently about the Virginia Advance Directive Registry. It is a new state service for storing Advance Medical Directives, but for now, Sentara is not participating. Let me explain why.
Inspiring Kindness Helps Others in Need
When you are elderly or sick, worrying with fixing meals can sometimes be almost too much to handle. Worrying that your loved ones aren’t getting nutritious meals daily can also be very stressful. Luckily, Mobile Meals of Norfolk helps to calm this stress by preparing and delivering meals daily to those in need. Mobile Meals … Continue Reading
Undying and Resilient to Help Others
Words to describe a cancer community educator When you first meet Angela, you feel like you’ve met an old friend. This quality comes in handy in her work as a community educator with the Sentara Cancer Network. Since 2005, Angela has been serving the community as a cancer community educator. Early in role, she committed … Continue Reading
Helping People with Chronic Health Conditions
How Sentara’s Use of TeleHealth Can Transform Healthcare. Keeping patients off the health care merry-go-round, was the message Ray Darcey, President of Sentara Home Care, recently carried to Washington to educate congressional leaders and their staffs on the value of telehealth technologies in promoting quality care, quality of life and access to care for people … Continue Reading
Take Heart: One man’s story
Tex Turner had been a fit man throughout his entire military career, maintaining his 185 pound frame with regular exercise and a balanced diet. Even as a retired Army Col., Turner remained fit and active for decades. Various life changes led Turner to “let himself go” as he described it, and his weight rose to … Continue Reading
