Pot and Pregnancy Warning
Pot and pregnancy can be a dangerous combination The legal use of marijuana is growing, with three U.S. states and the District of Columbia now endorsing legal marijuana use. An additional 21 states allow use of medical marijuana under physician prescription and supervision. The brain is a sensitive organ vulnerable to a variety of insults. This is particularly true during periods of brain development from conception through adolescence. Studies of pot’s effect on adults cannot be generalized to pregnant women, children or adolescents. This growing trend for marijuana legalization has not come without a variety of emerging adverse consequences. A recent review of the unexpected adverse health effects of marijuana legalization in Colorado found a spike in marijuana-related burns and increased emergency room visits related to high tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) levels and vomiting. Children have also been vulnerable to growing environmental exposure to pot. Legalization of marijuana in Colorado has resulted in a spike in emergency room and hospital admissions related to children accidentally ingesting edible THC products. Concern regarding pot and children extends to pregnancy and the developing fetal brain. Despite growing acceptance of marijuana in adults, very little is known about the effect of pot exposure during pregnancy. What we do know is unsettling. Pot use by pregnant mothers, or second-hand exposure to smoked marijuana, leads to fetal exposure as the active ingredients in pot cross the placenta barrier. Pot contains chemicals related to natural chemicals involved in fetal brain development. Normal fetal brain development requires a precisely-timed, specific-dose exposure to unique chemical signals. Chemicals in pot may disrupt this process and lead to abnormal development and to abnormal migration of fetal brain cells. Research into fetal pot toxicity is very much in an early stage. What we know is much less than what we don’t know. Given the potential for fetal brain toxicity with pot it is best to err on the side of caution. General medical consensus exists that pot should be avoided during pregnancy. Pot-smoking female adolescents and women who are considering pregnancy need to stop the use of marijuana. If this can’t be accomplished on their own, they should find an addiction specialist or treatment center that can provide expert care. Click here to read the article in Addiction.com. A new study A new study published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) reports that 7 percent of pregnant women use marijuana during pregnancy based on health surveys involving nearly 500,000 U.S. women. Pot use during pregnancy has doubled since 2002, research shows. Dr. Nicole Saphier warns that pot and pregnancy can be a dangerous combination. The purpose of the study was to determine if there was an increase in marijuana use among pregnant women, as we are witnessing a rising number of states where marijuana has been legalized for medical and recreational use. Marijuana is the most commonly used illicit drug during pregnancy. Based on 467,100 respondents surveyed between 2002 and 2017, the prevalence of daily cannabis use increased among pregnant (and non-pregnant) women ages 12 to 44 years. It was also higher among women in their first trimester of pregnancy, which is a crucial time in fetal development. Because of concerns regarding impaired fetal development, as well as maternal and fetal exposure to the adverse effects of smoking, women who are pregnant or contemplating pregnancy should discontinue recreational marijuana use and discuss the potential risks with their doctor if using it for medicinal purposes. Many organizations and growing numbers of elected officials – including Democratic presidential hopefuls Sens. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts...
Read More2019 CCHF Conference
Interwoven This year’s theme for the annual CCHF Conference, held in Cincinnati on March 28-30, was “Interwoven” – how do we embody the living message of God’s healing in our everyday work as clinicians caring for the afflicted? At the last minute, due to the unexpected loss of a key staff member, our team from HBHS had to stay back to care for patients, but Dr. Morehouse was able to participate and lead two workshops. All 725 from around the country who were able to attend were deeply encouraged. The attached PDF is an incomplete overview of the conference with links to some of the speakers. Source...
Read MoreBandaid on Finger?
How to do it right So many times we have to put a bandaid on a finger but it won’t stay there, especially on the tip. Perhaps it’s a child with an injury (or even a finger-stick blood test in the office). Or it’s over a joint and makes the finger stiff. Isn’t there a better way to handle this simple, common task? There sure is! Watch the video below for a demonstration of all you need to do to get the result you want. Why didn’t I think of it years ago, especially when we had kids at home? How to use the bandage. pic.twitter.com/Mx1HG1DvYG — Medical Shots (@TheMedicalShots) March 28, 2019 Source...
Read MoreHBHS Recognized
Health center achieves patient-centered milestone By Robin L. Flanigan – January 28, 2019 Three years ago, before the community health center His Branches partnered with Common Ground Health, this was a typical scenario: Moments into a patient’s visit, Medical Director Dr. Matthew Mack would realize he didn’t have the MRI results he needed. He’d then dart to the front of the office to find out where they were. A secretary would search for, and ultimately find, them—just in time for the patient’s visit to end. “There was zero foresight and the stress level was much higher,” he recalls. The center’s two locations, in the 19th Ward and Beechwood neighborhoods, experienced similar challenges. From left, Jenai Lawton, medical assistant, Regina Gonzalez, patient advocate, Dorcas N. Green, registered nurse, Sue Swift, quality improvement advisor with Common Ground Health, and Dr. Matthew Mack, M.D., meet in a huddle at His Branches medical center on Jan. 17, 2019. “It was planned chaos all day long and across the board,” says Sue Swift, who serves as a quality improvement advisor on Common Ground’s practice transformation team. She worked with staff at both locations on providing comprehensive care before, during and after patient visits. “It sounds simple,” Swift adds, “but it’s transformative for practices and for patients.” His Branches’ relationship with Swift as a consultant introduced critical strategies and skills to the safety net practice. As a result, the center reduced wait times, stretched follow-up visits from 15 to 20 minutes, improved patient outcomes, and implemented a host of other care enhancements. Those quality improvements recently helped His Branches earn renewal as a New York Patient-Centered Medical Home, recognition that the practice is using a holistic, patient-centered approach and is committed to continuous improvement. Research shows that practices using the medical home model benefit from lower health care costs, improved patient experience and better health outcomes. “Sue was firm and gentle, the perfect combination for a leader,” says Dr. Mack. “We’re a grassroots kind of place and there were times we felt overwhelmed and discombobulated with so many details, but she helped us stay grounded.” Using metrics to track its entire patient population, rather than only focusing on those who show up for appointments, the center has a much broader perspective and greater ability to close gaps in care. It can, for example, see which patients have not shown up for immunizations or lead screenings, or how many with hypertension and diabetes are overdue for a follow-up visit. Staff can then reach out to these individuals, helping to catch medical issues when they are easier and cheaper to treat. Jenai Lawton, medical assistant and Regina Gonzalez, patient advocate, talk about care they will provide during the day during a meeting at His Branches Medical Center. Common Ground Health assisted His Branches with putting in place team-based care. Perhaps the biggest impact has come from establishing care teams, each one comprised of a provider, a nurse, and a patient advocate. The teams meet 30 minutes before the first patient appointment to plan out the day with intention. These huddles ease tension for staff and for patients—the majority of whom are uninsured, qualify for Medicaid, or are otherwise vulnerable—especially when emergencies arise. The care teams also meet every two weeks to improve the way they work together. Staff members take turns leading the meetings to build leadership skills and rapport. “Communicating up front makes sense,” says Jennifer Wolford, RN, nurse manager. “We’re just more organized and have a better understanding of a patient’s needs before they come in the door.” Patients have picked up on the care...
Read MoreLong Life? Let’s Do It!
Want to live to be 90? Here’s your blueprint. An eye-opening new Harvard study reveals 5 brutal truths about people who live the longest. With all the advances in medicine, nutrition, and science, in terms of life expectancy, where do you think the U.S. ranks compared to the rest of the world? First? Fifth? Twentieth? Nope, nope, and nope: At an average expectancy of 76.3 years, the U.S. comes in 43rd out of 195 countries. And it gets worse. By 2040, researchers predict the U.S. will have fallen to 64th in the world. In a study 34-year study of more than 100,000 people, the researchers determined there are five factors that contribute most to living longer: Eat a healthy diet Get regular exercise Maintain a healthy body weight Don’t smoke Drink alcohol in moderation The list contains no surprises — but does lead to a surprising conclusion. Based on the data, say you… Exercise at least thirty minutes a day Maintain a “low” BMI of between 18.5 and 24.9 Drink no more than two glasses of wine (men) or one glass (women) per day Don’t smoke Eat a healthy diet Do those things and compared to people who don’t meet any of those criteria, if you’re a woman your life expectancy improves from 79 to 93.1 years old. If you’re a man, your life expectancy increases from 75.5 to 87.6 years old. Yep: Women get 14 additional years; men get 12 more years. While such a sizable difference in life expectancy might seem far-fetched, think about it this way. The top five determinants of average lifespan are “lifestyle” diseases: Obesity, high blood pressure, elevated blood sugar, and alcohol and tobacco use. Take body weight: Being overweight or obese is linked to serious health consequences like heart disease and stroke, Type 2 diabetes, and even some forms of cancer. That’s why the people who met the five criteria were 82 percent less likely than those who did not to die from cardiovascular disease and 65 percent less likely to die from cancer. Yep: Big numbers. So if you want to live longer — and who doesn’t? — the path is simple. Simple, yet hard. Anyone who tries to tell you that eating right, exercising regularly, and maintaining a healthy body weight is easy… is either lying, or trying to sell you something. But you definitely can do it — especially since the payoff, both short- and long-term, is so huge. If you’re overweight, start eating healthier. Start exercising more. That will actually knock three items off the list, since the combination of a better diet and more exercise will also reduce your body fat percentage. Then keep your alcohol intake moderate. (It’s okay to exceed the limit once in a while; the goal is to stay at or below an average of the equivalent of one or two glasses of wine.) And do everything you possibly can to stop smoking. Keep in mind that even if you don’t meet all five criteria, meeting a few will still pay off. Researchers found a “dose-response relationship” between each individual healthy lifestyle behavior and a reduced risk of early death. Iin non researcher-speak, that means any lifestyle improvements you make will positively impact your life expectancy. Lower your BMI and you should live longer. Exercise more and you should live longer. Eat healthier and you should live longer. And you’ll feel better today. Win-win. Article by By Jeff Haden, Contributing editor, Inc.com. Source...
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