Hands to Help Seniors

CHOMP has a number of great classes starting soon such as the “Look Good…Feel Better” session which will be held on Monday, January 26 from 10:00 a.m. to noon in the Cancer Center classroom.  The focus on this particular session is to help those with a serious cancer diagnosis.  You can learn techniques for wearing wigs and scarves and using makeup to enhance your appearance.  There is no charge but you do need to register by calling 1-888-452-4667.  For more information on classes at CHOMP go to www.chomp.org.

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Skin cancer typically is easily treated in its early stages.  Some types, however, can be deadly if not caught early.  Bristol-Myers Squibb recently received Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval for an advanced skin cancer treatment drug called Opdivo.  This is the second drug the company has brought to market which works by unleashing the body's immune system to attack the tumors.  It's the eighth drug that the FDA has approved for late-stage melanoma, which historically has been fatal in most cases.  This is great news.  The war against many different types of cancers is being fought and won.

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CHOMP has been awarded the Gold-Plus Quality Achievement Award for implementing specific quality improvement measures outlined by the American Heart Association and the American Stroke Association.  The “Get With The Guidelines” program established by these two groups is meant to improve and measure the quality of care stroke victims receive.  It helps hospital teams provide the most up-to-date, research-based guidelines with the goal of speeding recovery and reducing the number of deaths for those admitted to the hospital with a stroke.  CHOMP was awarded for the use of medications and risk reduction therapies aimed at reducing death and disability and improving the lives of stroke victims.  CHOPM also received the Target : Stroke Honor Roll for meeting stroke quality measures that reduce the time between hospital arrival and treatment with the clot-buster tPA.  This is critical as every minute counts for a stroke victim.  If you believe that you or a loved one is having a stroke, don’t waste a second before picking up the phone and dialing 911.

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It’s official; Natividad Medical Center has finally received its certification as a Level II trauma center, overcoming a number of controversies.  Approximately 300 trauma patients per year were formerly flown to San Jose which wasted precious time and racked up huge bills for the long trip.  “As an acute care hospital, for the past 128 years we have made an organizational commitment to the people of our community to provide safe, effective, accessible and quality health care,” Dr. Kelly O’Keefe, Natividad’s interim CEO, told the hospital staff.  “This is a great day for the people of Monterey County.  The approval came after a two and a half year process and Monterey County residents are grateful for the new center.

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Heart surgeons joke that if they are going to have a heart attack, the best place to do so is around other physicians.  A new study shows that this is not so.  Published in the medical journal JAMA Internal Medicine, the study found that survival rates were better for cardiac arrest patients at teaching hospitals while national cardiologists were away at a national convention.  The reason for this is pure conjecture.  However, the study speculated that those who didn’t attend the convention were likely to use less invasive techniques (perhaps stents rather than open heart surgery).  Unfortunately, when someone has a heart attack they have little or no input into what form of treatment they will get.   Therefore, the best advice I can give is to have regular checkups and try and change your diet and lifestyle so that you lower your risk of getting a heart attack in the first place.

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