Inside Sentara
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Having Trouble Sleeping?
An old Irish proverb suggests a good laugh and a long sleep are the best cures in the doctor’s book. Well, there may be some truth in that. A common condition affecting one in 10 Americans is sleep apnea. It’s a serious condition where soft tissue of the throat blocks airways during sleep. A dreamer’s … Continue Reading
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Employee Represents Innovation and Leadership
Sentara executive selected for new Innovation Advisors Program to improve care for patients. Congratulations to Grace Hines, senior vice president of Strategy and Strategic Implementation at Sentara Healthcare, on being selected for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services’ (CMS) Innovation Advisors Program. The initiative, launched by the CMS Innovation Center in October 2011, will help … Continue Reading
Got an App-etite for new technology?
Sentara Healthcare knows healthcare consumers have an app-etite for technology. That’s why – on the heels of its successful Sentara MyChart app launch in 2011 – the integrated healthcare system now introduces the SentaraHealth app. The SentaraHealth app for iPhone, Android and Blackberry provides convenient, real-time access to basic information about hospitals, locations and doctors … Continue Reading
Thoughts on Quality Care
How Our Team Works Hard to Improve Health Every Day Editor Note: This letter was written by Beth J. Carlson, Vice President of Patient Care Services, Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical Center. It was featured in a recent issue of the Virginia Gazette. As a nurse and member of the hospital leadership at Sentara Williamsburg Regional Medical … Continue Reading
Understanding “Sample Free”
What does “sample free” mean for Sentara Medical Group patients? We’re talking to Dr. David R. Maizel, President of Sentara Medical Group and Dr. Michael Charles, a Sentara Family Medicine physician about the decision to stop providing sample medications to Sentara Medical Group patients beginning April 1, 2012. Amy: Let’s be honest, we all like … Continue Reading
Medicaid Statement 2012
By David L. Bernd CEO, Sentara Healthcare.
We understand that Medicaid is a significant driver of costs in Virginia’s biennial budget. However, current Medicaid reimbursement rates for hospitals, nursing homes and physicians are having real and tangible effects on access to care and healthcare jobs in Virginia. Current budget proposals will make the crisis worse.
A Virginia Hospital and Healthcare Association (VHHA) report says 14 hospital obstetrics units have closed in Virginia since 2003, due in part to historically low Medicaid reimbursements. Another hospital OB department and a 16-bed psychiatric unit are scheduled to close in 2012.
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
Welcome to Sentara Today
Announcing our “New and Improved” blog. We would like to take a few minutes just to introduce you to ourselves, and some of the new features on Sentara Today. About Us Sentara Today began in 2009 as a way to inform and recognize our patients and employees. We bring you: news and happenings around the … 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.
