New Year, New You

2. Have a support group. Family, friends, co-workers, and gym employees can encourage you on your way. Making a change is hard; it's even harder when you have no support. If you have a friend who is interested in working out with you, take them up on their offer! Having someone to be accountable to like a friend or a personal trainer is a great way to motivate you into action.
3. When changing your dietary habits be aware of what is healthy. If you come across a diet plan that requires that you cut out one food group completely, avoid this--it is unhealthy. Sticking to the five food groups and proper portions is the key. Also, talk to your doctor or a dietitian if you feel that you do not know where to start with healthy eating.
4. Healthy eating is not easy, especially in today's society, so don't be so hard on yourself. Make small healthy changes as you go. An example would be switching from white or honey wheat bread to a whole grain bread. Or switching from whole milk to 2%, this cuts out calories as well. If you make too many changes at once you will more than likely not stick to them. Gradually work your way to a healthier you.
5. Exercise is a key to healthy weight loss. Start out easy and work your way up. Just like dietary changes, you need to be realistic about your fitness level and gradually work into your routine. If you need help consult one of the trainers in the Baptist Health Fitness Center to get you started out.
Have a Happy, Healthy New Year and Good Luck in your endeavors!

BAPTIST HEALTH ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT FOR
STUTTGART REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

Little Rock, Ark. (September 29, 2008) BAPTIST HEALTH announced that it will begin management of Stuttgart Regional Medical Center on October 1. Formal plans are for this management agreement to become a long-term lease beginning January 1, 2009. At that time the name would become BAPTIST HEALTH Medical Center-Stuttgart.

A management agreement is necessary short-term until the final long-term lease agreement can be formalized, said Russell D. Harrington Jr., president and CEO of BAPTIST HEALTH. BAPTIST HEALTH is eager to be in Stuttgart providing the residents of this area with the full resources that our healthcare system has to offer.

Stuttgart Regional Medical Center is a 49-bed hospital with 290 employees. BAPTIST HEALTH is Arkansas™ most comprehensive healthcare organization with more than 7,500 employees operating six hospitals, not including Stuttgart Regional Medical Center.

Build a Healthy Body Image

A poor body image is not a superficial problem. It has been linked to depression, eating disorders, and marital problems.

More than half of women in the United States are unhappy with their appearance. What causes someone to have a negative body image? A range of factors can play a role, including childhood teasing, a beautyobsessed culture, a woman's perception of aging, and the media.

Mental health experts have developed several exercises that can help women understand the root causes of their negative attitudes about their body, confront these attitudes, and eventually change them:

Face Your Body Fears

Do you steer clear of swimming pools because you don't want to be seen in a bathing suit? Do you avoid certain social situations because you think every one is thinner or better looking than you? One way to get past your fears is to do exactly what you fear. Start out gradually. For instance, try exercising at home until you feel comfortable enough to work out at the gym.

No matter where you do it, though, exercise itself can be a powerful tool at your disposal. Pumping iron and other exercise has been shown to lift body image for men and women.

Tuck Away Negative Thoughts

Replace critical thoughts about your body with more positive comments. For instance, instead of calling your wrinkles "ugly," think of them as "distinguished" or "signs of a well-lived life."

Focus on How You Feel

Seek out activities that focus on how your body feels rather than on how you look. For instance, treat yourself to a massage. Relaxation techniques also can help you feel more comfortable with your body.

Watch yourself around children. If you complain about your appearance in front of kids— they'll pick up on it. Help children build healthy body images by avoiding criticism and offering positive feedback instead.

Stroke: Knowledge Is Your
Best Defense

Research shows that a lot of people are unaware of the causes and warning signs of stroke—facts that could save their lives. Many strokes can be prevented, and those that do strike can often be successfully treated if people seek emergency care right away.

Do you know how to protect yourself?

Test Your Knowledge

1. High blood pressure is the most common risk factor for stroke. True. Studies show that even a slight reduction in blood pressure can reduce stroke risk by as much as 42 percent in people with high blood pressure. Other chronic conditions also increase the risk of stroke, including heart disease, diabetes, and high cholesterol. Managing these conditions can significantly reduce stroke risk.
   
   
2. Certain nutrients in your diet can lower your stroke risk.
   True. Research indicates that getting enough folate, vitamin B12, and vitamin B6 can positively affect the amount of homocysteine in the blood, which is associated with stroke risk. In addition, experts recommend eating lots of fruits and vegetables, and limiting your intake of salt and saturated fat.
   
   
3. Fatigue and chest pain are warning signs of stroke.
   False. Warning signs include:

   • Sudden numbness of the face or limbs
   • Sudden dimming or loss of vision
   • Sudden difficulty speaking
   • Sudden, severe headache with no known cause
   • Unexplained dizziness or sudden falls

If you think you're having a stroke, get to the emergency room right away. Clot-dissolving drugs and other medications can maximize a person's chance for a full recovery if delivered in time.

Baptist Health Involves Patients in Chronic Care

The combination of patients not taking charge of their regimens and the vagaries of Medicare reimbursement policies too often result in home-based chronic care that cyclically morphs into expensive acute care as diseases progress and spike.

To address these two issues, Baptist Health Home Health Network, Little Rock, Ark., has simultaneously trained its staff to teach patients a chronic-care management model that makes them more conscientious participants in their care while educating legislators on why Medicare should support such efforts.

During the past year and a half, re-hospitalizations related to chronic disease in the system have dropped to 13% from 20%, the network has found it easier to transition patients into home hospice when appropriate, and both hospitals and the Medicare program have seen decreases from costly readmissions and end-of-life care. An unexpected benefit: nursing staff turnover has declined to 6% from 20%.

These results have earned Baptist Health the 2008 Spirit of Excellence Award for Quality. “With the increase in everybody’s health premiums, this is right where we have to head,” says Diane Dunne, judge for the Quality category and patient/physician satisfaction coordinator at ProMedica Health System in Toledo, Ohio. “This is a very unique approach they’ve taken. Kudos to them for being so proactive in process improvements.”

The ability to better engage patients in their care has been a major satisfier for employees, reports Paula Suter, director of chronic-care management. “They were working with patients who seemed like they were noncompliant,” she says. “After they had gone through training … they get so excited because the same patients they had labeled as noncompliant, all of a sudden, they are engaging them.”
Staff at the network have worked to educate federal legislators about the course that chronic diseases often take, progressing from stable to unstable periods without warning unless treated consistently, which gets tangled up in the Medicare stipulation that a patient receiving home-based care be homebound, needing considerable effort to leave.

“Those periods of unstable chronic-disease progression can end that patient up in the emergency room” if not carefully monitored, Suter says. “Whereas if you can intervene quickly, and change their medication, many hospitalizations of chronic-care patients, experts believe, are preventable. If a system is in place to monitor individuals over time, we believe through preventing unnecessary healthcare utilization, we can reduce expenditures,” she says.

Baptist Health has recently been pilot testing a phone-monitoring system in which patients upload their own medical data via a BlackBerry. “You can’t provide information and expect (patients) to change,” Suter says. “Until now, it’s been, ‘Healthcare expert imparts knowledge to passive patient, expects them to make behavior change.’ In reality, that doesn’t always work.”

(HealthDay News) -- Calcium and vitamin D supplements may do more than strengthen bones in older women. These vital nutrients may also help younger, active women reduce their risk of stress fractures.

To illustrate that point, many bone health experts refer to a recent study of more than 5,200 female U.S. Navy recruits that found that women who didn't take additional calcium and vitamin D were about 25 percent more likely to suffer a stress fracture than women who took the vitamin and mineral combination.

"The most common time for a stress fracture is when you're increasing your exercise levels -- when you're going from doing nothing to doing a whole lot. It's too much, too fast, and the bone can't handle it," explained Dr. Sabrina Strickland, an orthopedic surgeon who specializes in sports medicine at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.

"Before you embark on any sort of exercise regimen, take calcium and vitamin D supplements to reduce your chances of a stress fracture," she advised.

Stress fractures occur when muscles become tired and can't absorb shock properly. That force is then transferred to the bone instead. After time, that added shock can cause a tiny crack in the bone. More than half of all stress fractures occur in the lower leg, according to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

Women are more likely to suffer stress fractures, particularly women involved in just one particular sport, such as running, tennis, gymnastics or basketball.

"Stress fractures are seen in people who do the same activity over and over again," said Dr. Elton Strauss, an associate professor of orthopedic surgery at the Mount Sinai Medical School in New York City.

In the Navy recruit study, the women were undergoing eight weeks of basic training. All were between the ages of 17 and 35. The women were randomly divided into two groups. One group was given daily supplements containing 2,000 milligrams of calcium and 800 international units of vitamin D, while the other group took a placebo.

More than 300 women developed a stress fracture. About 170 women who took a placebo experienced a stress fracture. That means about 25 percent more of the placebo group had a stress fracture compared to those taking the supplements.

Results of the study were presented at a recent meeting of the Orthopaedic Research Society.

"I recommend that all of my female patients take 1,200 to 1,500 milligrams of calcium citrate and 800 international units of vitamin D3 daily," said Strickland.

Strickland also advised that athletes should cross-train to avoid stress fractures. If you're a runner, she suggests lifting weights. "Don't just participate in impact activities," she cautioned.

Strauss agreed that cross-training is crucial for strengthening muscles and ligaments, which will help prevent stress fractures. "You shouldn't do the same sport seven days a week," he said.

Strauss also suggested making sure you get plenty of sleep. And, if you're participating in a lot of exercise, you should "push for at least 12 to 15 grams of protein at each meal." Protein is important for the metabolism of muscles and bones, he said.

Strauss also recommended getting adequate levels of calcium, because it's "good for the entire musculoskeletal system." He said he thought most runners and other athletes spend enough time outdoors that they might not need a vitamin D supplement, because the body makes vitamin D when exposed to sunlight. However, athletes who are vigilant about applying sunscreen may need the additional vitamin D.

Finally, when you begin a new activity, take it slow, Strickland advised. "Don't do too much too fast. The typical rule for runners, and one almost nobody follows, is to increase the amount of running by 10 percent each week," she said.

More information

To learn more about stress fractures, visit the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

SOURCES: Sabrina Strickland, M.D., orthopedic surgeon, Hospital for Special Surgery, assistant professor of orthopedic surgery, Weill Cornell Medical College, and chief, orthopedics, James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, New York City; Elton Strauss, M.D., associate professor of orthopedic surgery, Mount Sinai Medical School, New York City

If your skin is erupting with blemishes that you thought could only afflict a teenager, you may have adult acne. Acne is the term for oil-clogged pores (tiny openings on the skin) that become inflamed and form blemishes. Adult acne blemishes appear mainly on the face. In women, blemishes tend to form around the chin, mouth, jawline, and neck. In men, acne often affects the entire face. But the trunk and upper arms can also be involved.

What Causes Acne?

Acne starts inside the hair follicles under your skin's surface. Oil glands that open into the hair follicles release excess oil (sebum). Sebum and skin cells clog your pores. Bacteria can then get trapped in the follicles, leading to swelling and acne blemishes. Why adults get acne is not well understood. The good news is that acne is treatable.

Types of Acne

The four main types of acne blemishes are described below.

• Whiteheads are round, white blemishes that form when hair follicles become clogged.

• Blackheads are round, dark blemishes that form when whiteheads reach the skin's surface and touch air.

• Pimples are red, swollen bumps that form when plugged follicle walls break near the skin's surface.

• Deep cysts are pus-filled pimples. They form when plugged follicle walls break deep within the skin. Acne cysts are often large and painful. In some cases, they also cause scars.

How Medical Treatment Can Help

The goals of treatment are to keep new acne blemishes from forming and to prevent scarring. You and your doctor can discuss the best way to control your acne. In most cases, acne treatment includes medications taken by mouth (orally), medications applied to the skin (topical), or both. Your doctor may also remove blemishes or give you injections. If you have acne scars, surgery or medications can help improve the way your skin looks. Be sure you understand your treatment plan. You will play an important role in the success of your treatment.

BAPTIST HEALTH ANNOUNCES MANAGEMENT AGREEMENT FOR
STUTTGART REGIONAL MEDICAL CENTER

Little Rock, Ark. (September 29, 2008) – BAPTIST HEALTH announced that it will begin management of Stuttgart Regional Medical Center on October 1. Formal plans are for this management agreement to become a long-term lease beginning January 1, 2009. At that time the name would become BAPTIST HEALTH Medical Center-Stuttgart.

"A management agreement is necessary short-term until the final long-term lease agreement can be formalized," said Russell D. Harrington Jr., president and CEO of BAPTIST HEALTH. "BAPTIST HEALTH is eager to be in Stuttgart providing the residents of this area with the full resources that our healthcare system has to offer."

Stuttgart Regional Medical Center is a 49-bed hospital with 290 employees. BAPTIST HEALTH is Arkansas' most comprehensive healthcare organization with more than 7,500 employees operating six hospitals, not including Stuttgart Regional Medical Center.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark., (Oct. 14, 2008) – The BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network is gaining national attention for designing a new approach to delivering care for the increasing population faced with the difficult challenge of managing chronic diseases.

After three years of development, the BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network's "Home-Based Chronic Care Model" was launched a year ago and has since been published in a journal for the home-health industry and presented at several conferences where it has drawn interest from other home-health agencies across the country.

Now the model is drawing national acclaim from the home-health industry –– the National Association of Home Care & Hospice has given its highest honor, the inaugural Excellence in Innovation Award, to BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network in recognition of its work in creating a better way to deliver health care to patients with chronic diseases.

The award was presented on Oct. 12 at the National Association of Home Care & Hospice's annual convention, held this year in Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and featuring an address from former President Bill Clinton.

The BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network was selected as the winner out of 9,400 home-health agencies across the country.

Managing chronic diseases has become an important issue in today's healthcare world. Home-health patients with at least one chronic disease have increased by 20 percent in the last five years to now more than 50 percent nationally. Sixty percent of Medicare patients have at least one chronic disease and the incidence is increasing yearly. Chronic conditions have become increasingly complex to manage, and until now, there has been little support to offer these patients.

Seeing the need for a comprehensive care-delivery model tailored to the home environment to better serve the growing number of patients with chronic diseases, the BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network evaluated and improved upon other models in other areas of health care and incorporated the best principles into its new home-based chronic-care approach.

Realizing other home-health agencies would be interested in replicating this new care-delivery model, BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network created a new entity, 2020 Health Solutions, to offer consulting, training, and certification on a national scale.

Health-care providers interested in learning more about what this care-delivery model can do for them and their patients cab visit 2020healthsolutions.com for more information.

The Home-Based Chronic-Care Model incorporates four components:

● A high-touch delivery system to engage patients face to face and build relationships and trust.

● Theory-based self-management support to identify barriers that keep patients from managing their condition.

● Clinical-nurse-specialist oversight to bring the knowledge of a specialist and support to other nurses

● Maximum use of technology that includes tele-rehab monitoring for two-way communication.

The BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network has distinguished itself as an agency dedicated to using technology in ways to reduce acute-care hospitalizations, improve clinical outcomes, and increase patient satisfaction while reducing costs.

In addition to the innovative care-delivery model that can be used nationwide, the BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network has developed "The Center of Excellence for Chronic Care Management" for the purpose of disseminating these best practices and to facilitate collaboration and continued innovation in the field of chronic care management.

"Many individuals with diabetes, heart failure, or pulmonary disease are experiencing significant difficulty with disease management as evidenced by their
disproportionate use of the healthcare system," said Sen. Blanche Lincoln.

"The BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network has spent considerable time, effort, and resources to research best practices to manage these diseases and has developed and implemented a new care-delivery model based on the research and their extensive caring for these individuals," said Sen. Lincoln in a recommendation letter.

The BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network is proud to be recognized on a national level and the feedback to date from patients and staff has been overwhelmingly positive. Patients report increased satisfaction as a result of being better equipped to manage their disease proactively and effectively.
    
BAPTIST HEALTH is the state's most comprehensive healthcare system. With more than 175 access points –– including major medical centers, family clinics, and therapy and wellness centers –– BAPTIST HEALTH is committed to delivering "All Our Best" in healthcare to the people of Arkansas. 

For more information about the BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network or any BAPTIST HEALTH service, call BAPTIST HEALTH HealthLine at B-A-P-T-I-S-T
(227-8478).   The BAPTIST HEALTH Home Health Network's web site can be accessed at www.bhhhn.com.