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GAM BIT’S HEALTH & WELLNESS > JULY 2011 >VOLUME 2 > NUM BER 7
G A M B I T ’ S H E A LT H + W E L L N E S S
HAVE A
HEART THE INS AND OUTS OF ORGAN DONATION
A DANCE - AND MARTIAL ARTS- INSPIRED WORKOUT
7
ADVANCES IN CANCER
TREATMENT
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FAST, FLAVORFUL
CEVICHE RECIPES
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H E A LT H Y L I V I N G I S A
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HealtH & Wellness > bestofneworleans.com > JUlY 12 > 2011
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C
ntents J U LY 2011
HeALtH FeAtURe
eXPeRt ADVICe
Facts about organ and tissue transplants
Cancer treatments get focused
tHe JUICe
BODY eQUItY
Dance, twirl and kick your way to fitness.
Stay cool with fresh, flavorful ceviche.
tHe sOURCe
WeLLsPRInG Health news in brief
Author Eric Pearl on Reconnection Healing
TIME IN THE DAY?
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HealtH & Wellness > bestofneworleans.com > JUlY 12 > 2011
Note: Designation as Blue Distinction Centers ® means thse facilities’ overall experience and aggregate data met objective criteria established in collaboration with expert clinicians’ and leading professional organizations’ recommendations. Individual outcomes may vary. To find out which services are covered under your policy at any facilities, please call your local Blue Cross and /or Blue Shield Plan.
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Heartfelt Gifts the demand for transplant organs and tissues far outstrips supply. here’s how you can help.
By missy wilkinson
C
harlotte Dufrene Danos works at a small fruit stand on a rural strip of Highway 190 in Boutte, La. Across the highway, there’s a Waffle House patronized by many of her fruit stand regulars. Danos suggests we meet there for the interview. She’s stirring her coffee when an afternoon thunderstorm rolls in. She raises her voice to be heard over the clatter of dishes and heavy rain. “They were considering Lauren for the (transplant) list, but they only pick the best people for transplants, the people who the transplant will last in,” Danos says of her daughter Lauren Zehr, a 27-year-old cystic fibrosis patient who died last December after her lungs failed. An artist, Danos shows me some of the sketches she drew of herself and Lauren during their many hours in the hospital. They both have wistful smiles and startlingly blue eyes. “Lauren was held back from the list because she was bipolar and diabetic,” Danos continues. “She had some kidney damage, which is to be expected after a lifetime of antibiotics. Nevertheless, they decided they would shoot her to the top of the list if she could get off the ventilator. But she couldn’t get off it.” Danos’ cousin, who also had cystic fibrosis, was on the organ transplant waiting list when she died. According to
Lana Stevens, a community educator for the Louisiana Organ Procurement Agency (LOPA), there are 110,000 people in the United States waiting for transplants, 1,800 of whom reside in Louisiana. “About two-thirds of them are waiting for kidneys, and we have 43 people waiting for a heart transplant,” Stevens says. Because only patients who die from brain death (2 percent of all deaths) are eligible to have their organs harvested for transplant, it’s a bitter truth that organ demand outstrips supply. “Even countries that have implied consent such as Portugal and Spain still have a waiting list,” says Dr. Anil Paramesh, assistant director of surgery at Tulane University Medical Center and medical director of LOPA. “I don’t know if we will ever completely close the gap between the need for organs and the wait list. But every little bit helps.” That’s why it’s important for everyone to sign up to be organ donors, says Cheryl McGee-Hills. Her husband waited five years before receiving a kidney transplant. The kidney donor was McGee-Hills’ brother, who died after he had an aneurysm while jogging. “The organs went to four people in three different states,” says McGee-Hills, who shares her experience at churches, schools and businesses as a community educator for LOPA. “We don’t know when we are going
page 7
HealtH & Wellness > bestofneworleans.com > JUlY 12 > 2011
The family of organ donor maTThew walsh congregaTes aT The donor family Picnic in folsom, la. The annual Picnic celebraTes life and The families whose loved ones have become heroes Through organ and Tissue donaTion.
to go, but when we do, we can help a lot of people.” For patients like McGee-Hills’ husband, the wait for an organ can be long. “For kidney transplants, it’s first-come, firstserved, so the waiting time might be two to five years,” says Dr. George Loss, head of transplant surgery at Ochsner Medical Center. “For the liver and heart transplants, it is more of a triage system. If you are less sick, you will be lower on the list.” Any potential transplant candidate must undergo a rigorous evaluation procedure to determine whether he or she is eligible to be on the transplant waiting list. A group of professionals, which includes a transplant team, dietitians, nurses, financial counselors and social workers, examines the patient’s mental and physical health, social support network and financial status, among other indications and contraindications. “(Organ transplant) is a big operation,” Loss says. “We determine whether or not someone is a candidate. We are trying to identify potential problems. It’s like adopting a child. You want to make sure everything is in good condition before the organ arrives.” McGee-Hills and Stevens say there’s a myth that rich and famous patients are likelier to receive organ transplants than their everyday counterparts. “It seems like the rich and famous get priority because they have the money, but there is a waiting list, and they must wait like anyone else,” Stevens says. However, money can be a factor as to whether a patient is eligible to be on the waiting list at all. “Transplant is an expensive procedure,” Paramesh says. “This is not like any operation. We are responsible for making these organs work. We’re talking about the cost of surgery, the work-up plan, which takes weeks and months, and all the follow-up, including antirejection medications for the rest of the life of the organ, needs to be covered somehow, and that takes money. In most cases, insurance does cover it. But insurance has gotten more complicated, and in some cases that may not be in place, in which case (the patient) will not qualify.”
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e x e r ci s e fo r li f e
The Joy of Nia the dance- and martial art-inspired workout is effective, no-impact and fun. but you might also be the only match on a registry of nine million.” There is a special need for AfricanAmerican donors, as patients are more likely to have a tissue match with a donor of the same race, and fewer African-Americans are on the registry. “July is African-American bone marrow awareness month,” Lesak-Greenberg says. “For an AfricanAmerican, there is an estimated 66 percent probability of a match versus a Caucasian, who has a 93 percent chance of finding a willing and able donor.” Living donations, which is when a living person donates an organ (most commonly a kidney, a lobe of a lung, or part of the liver, pancreas or intestine) are another way a living person can donate organs. Tulane University Medical Center, LSU Health Sciences Center Shreveport and Ochsner Medical Center perform living donation transplants. Surgeons, community educators, organ donors and just about anybody else affected by organ transplants are unanimous on one point: “If you want to be a donor, sign the back of that license, join the registry with LOPA, and first and foremost, let your loved ones know,” Loss says. McGee-Hills and Stevens agree and are eager to share their organ donation wisdom.“It should be a discussion at your lunch table, at dinner, with friends, because it can happen to your friend, your neighbor, your loved one,” McGee-Hills says. “Please contact us because we’ll talk to your college, school, church, neighborhood association … we’ll talk to anyone.” Danos, too, hopes more people sign up to be donors so more organ transplants can be performed. “Lauren was so young. There was so much life she wanted to live out,” she says. “Everyone deserves a chance at life whose life would be cut short otherwise.” To become an organ and tissue donor, sign up at at the Office of Motor Vehicles, online at www.donatelifela.org/ signup or by calling (800) 521-GIVE (4483). Join the Be The Match bone marrow registry at www.bethematch. org/stepup. For more information about living donations, visit www.transplantliving.org/livingdonation.
By lee cutrone
M
ost of us have heard the phrase “no pain, no gain,” so many times we’ve been conditioned to believe it. But there’s another way to reap the benefits of exercise. Nia, a movement practice that draws from martial arts, dance and healing modalities like yoga, is designed to connect the body, mind, spirit and emotions through creative, joyful movement. Created more than 25 years ago in Marin County, Calif., by aerobics instructors Debbie and Carlos Rosas, who were tired of being injured while exercising, Nia (non-impact aerobics) is now taught in 45 countries. In New Orleans, both Crescent Lotus (3143 Calhoun St., 382-5199; www.crescent- lotus.com) and Transform (8422 Oak St., 985-640-2648; www.transformnola.com) offer Nia classes, which are appropriate for people of all ages and fitness levels. “You’re moving your body to feel pleasure and nobody’s pushing you to do something you don’t want to do,” says Kate Finlayson, a Nia instructor who teaches the technique at both studios. “It’s about finding your own expression. You’re tapping into joy, and your body responds to dancing in a pleasurable way. It really is about having fun.” The beauty of Nia lies in its combination of structured and free-form movements. There are 52 basic moves taken from tai chi, tae kwon do, aikido, modern dance, jazz dance, Duncan dance (developed by modern dancer Isadora Duncan), yoga, the work of Moshe Feldenkrais and the Alexander
bOw aNd aRROw: sTaNdINg IN aN OPeN sTaNCe, sTeP baCK wITh yOuR LeFT FOOT. ROTaTe yOuR ChesT TO The LeFT as yOu dRaw baCK yOuR LeFT shOuLdeR. PuT yOuR RIghT aRm FORwaRd. TaKe aIm aNd ReLease The aRROw wITh a “shhh” sOuNd.
FRONT KICK: LIFT The ThIgh, TuCKINg yOuR heeL IN TOwaRd yOuR buTTOCKs wITh The KNee LIFTed. LOOK IN The dIReCTION yOu INTeNd TO KICK. wITh yOuR haNds aT heaRT LeveL, KICK yOuR FOOT OuT TO The FRONT, ImagININg KICKINg a baLLOON. Push dOwN wITh yOuR suPPORTINg FOOT, aNd use yOuR haNds aNd aRms TO maINTaIN veRTICaL aLIgNmeNT aNd baLaNCe. as yOu KICK TO The FRONT, yOuR KNeeCaP FaCes The CeILINg aNd yOuR suPPORTIve KNee Is sPRINg-LOaded aNd ReLaxed. IT Is FuN TO maKe a sOuNd LIKe “hO!” wheN dOINg KICKs.
technique. But every class offers a unique combination of those moves — which are performed barefoot to multicultural music — and participants are encouraged to alter each movement to their own needs and abilities. A student may modify a kick, for example, by tapping his foot. “As the instructor, I am simply the guide, inviting you to experience the sensations of your own body,” Finlayson says. A professional actor who’s appeared in feature films and television shows, as well as an environmental educator, Finlayson became aware of Nia’s transformative power six years ago and describes it as profound and life-affirming. In addition to providing a full-body cardio workout (as challenging or easy as you make it) that improves strength, flexibility, coordination, breathing and circulation, it also improves mental and emotional well-being and helps participants release inhibitions and become more self-accepting. “It gets people back into their bodies and reconnected to sensation,” Finlayson says. The front kick and bow and arrow are two basic Nia moves. Performed consecutively, they strengthen the quads and hamstrings, and provide a gentle twist for the spine. Repeat the exercises on both the left and right sides until warmth builds up in your body.
HealtH & Wellness > bestofneworleans.com > JUlY 12 > 2011
Zehr spent months meeting with doctors and having tests run, hoping be put on the lung transplant waiting list. “She made a list: ‘What I need to do to get better,’” Danos recalls. “It was: Eat. Pray. Do (breathing) treatments.” Throughout the process, Danos never lost hope that her daughter would receive a transplant. “I think a positive attitude is the best way to handle it,” she says. For patients who do receive a transplant and a second chance at life, the impact is nothing short of miraculous, McGee-Hills says. “In our profession, we hear and see the good of organ transplants every day. We see the side where families have lost, but we also see the side where recipients who have been sick all their life … finally know what it is like to feel well,” she says. McGee-Hills adds that the act of organ donation can heal not only the recipient, but also the family of the deceased donor. “It helps out donor families with the grieving process. A lot of times, (the recipient) becomes an extended family.” LOPA’s Family Services division allows donor and recipient family members to contact each other, and 1,400 people attended the most recent yearly donor family picnic, where donor families meet the recipients of their loved ones’ organs. Some transplants use organs and tissue from living donors. Bone marrow donations can save lives, and any healthy person between ages 18 and 60 can join the Be The Match bone marrow registry at www.bethematch. org/stepup. About 76 percent of the time, bone marrow is harvested through peripheral blood cell donation, an outpatient, nonsurgical procedure similar to donating platelets or plasma, says Kirsten Lesak-Greenberg, spokesperson for the National Marrow Donor Program. In other cases, it is removed from the bones with a hollow needle in a surgical outpatient procedure while patients are under general or local anesthesia. “About one in 40 (people) on the list will be identified (as a potential match), and one in 540 will go on to donate to a patient,” Lesak-Greenberg says. “When you join the registry, you might not ever be a match,
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D
subsets of energy.” Pearl says a healing doesn’t work the same on everyone. Some people need more than one session and some patients don’t feel the full effects immediately. However, most “results tend to work instantly and last a lifetime,” Pearl says. “We’re accessing something that has always existed in the universe but has not existed for us before. … It’s the perfect intelligence of the universe telling the body how to heal.” He’s seen great success in patients with a range of conditions including AIDS, cancer, scoliosis, cerebral palsy and even bunions. His explanation of reconnection healing can get very philosophical and metaphysical, but it’s backed up by results and science. In his book The Reconnection: Heal Others, Heal Yourself, which has been published in 36 languages, Pearl goes into detail about his awakening to reconnection healing and how he learned to pass it on to others. It also has instructions for performing a reconnection. Through the book and a series of seminars/ workshops scheduled on six continents, Pearl has taught more than 60,000 people. (He teaches reconnection healing to children, and has a program for healing animals as well, and he hopes to conduct workshops within the prison system.) “I believe that I’m here to teach this consciousness to as many people as possible,” says Pearl, who held a workshop in New Orleans last month and plans another in 2012. “Hopefully this work will become known to virtually every person on the planet. I hope to make it become better known than Coca-Cola. … Hopefully one day we won’t have to teach it. You will be able to just sit next to somebody (and pass on the energy).”
How site-specific care is cHanging cancer treatment By Katie Kidder crosBie
C
ancer treatment has changed drastically in the last 20 years, and a cancer diagnosis is no longer considered a death sentence. Along with early detection and other factors, targeted cancer treatments are responsible for much of that success. From diagnosis to aftercare, cancer care providers are finding the disease varies so greatly that specializing in sitespecific cancers has become the most effective method of treatment. “Cancer is 100 diseases in one,” explains Mattie J. Hobley, director of oncology services at East Jefferson General Hospital (EJGH). “Each cancer acts differently in the body and needs to be treated differently.” EJGH urologist Dr. Sean Collins offers further explanation: “Seminoma, for example, a cancer of the testes, is exquisitely susceptible to radiation, but other cancers are more susceptible to chemotherapy, others respond to surgery and others require combinations. Why some respond well to one treatment and poorly to another, we can’t always say. If we had the answer to that, it would be the Holy Grail for cancer treatment.” Because certain cancers are sensitive to some treatments and others are not, physicians specializing in a particular part of the body may be able to hone in on the most effective course of treatment more quickly than those with a broader knowledge base. For example, providers who treat mostly breast cancer patients may not be aware of the latest treatment regimens and resources available for prostate cancer patients. More oncologists are graduating from medical school with an interest in specializing in fighting one particular kind of cancer. “The oncologists we meet now all want to know what our philosophy is on cancer treatment,” Hobley says. “They want to know that they can practice in one area of expertise.” Some of the most successful treatments begin with early detection, so diagnosticians already have adopted site-specific practices. Radiologists at EJGH represent specialties from across the medical landscape, ranging from neuroradiology to interventional radiology and breast imaging. Tools used to diagnose cancers in different parts of the body also vary. Breast imaging, for instance, can call for one or several procedures, including digital mammography, computer-aided detection, cyst aspiration and MRI-guided needle biopsies. The field of cancer navigation also is evolving into site specialties. Cancer navigator programs, which guide patients
through the cancer and hospital experience, are fairly new components of patients’ overall care but are fast becoming integral parts of treatment. The American College of Surgeons Commission on Cancer, the credentialing agency for cancer programs, will institute patient navigation as a standard of care in 2012. EJGH established its cancer navigator program in 2008. This year, the hospital expanded the program to include sitespecific navigators for the four mostoften treated cancers at EJGH: breast, lung, colorectal and prostate. “They assist physicians in expediting patients’ treatment and care and make sure that clinical protocols are adhered to from diagnosis through survivorship,” Hobley says. The programs also provide resources for patients in an organized, easy-tounderstand way. Registered nurse Debbie Schmitz, who began the navigator program at EJGH and now acts as a navigator for prostate and other cancers, explains, “Navigators act as patient advocates, physician liaisons, comrades and support. “When we meet patients, they are nervous and anxious and a little upset. The navigator listens to the patient, presents them with a binder where they can keep all of their medical records, appointments, notes and other resources. We also give them access to outside resources like legitimate websites and cancer support groups. We have resources for how to talk to children about cancer, nutritional information … you name it.” Now that the program has expanded, navigators will continue to extend care to patients through the first five to 10 years of recovery. Having a navigator specializing in just one type of cancer means the patient can be with the same navigator through his or her entire journey. The key component of making sitespecific cancer care work and continuing improving the quality of care patients receive is to rethink the notion that one doctor should have the final say in a patient’s treatment. Hobley and Collins agree that the trend in cancer care is moving toward multimodality therapy. This approach combines the site-specific expertise of surgeons, oncologists, pathologists, radiologists, nurses, cancer care navigators and ancillary personnel. “We want to focus on the disease,” Collins says. “We identify people with expertise in the area who can combine their efforts. We are going to demand quality in a certain area, and we are going to identify the people who can achieve that.”
HealtH & Wellness > bestofneworleans.com > JUlY 12 > 2011
r. Eric Pearl’s favorite phrase is “I don’t know.” He uses it often when answering questions about reconnection healing. Pearl left a successful private chiropractic practice in Los Angeles to travel the world teaching people how to use energy to heal a range of diseases and conditions. He doesn’t know exactly why it works, though scientific studies show it does, but Pearl is certain reconnection healing does work — and that almost anyone can learn how to heal others and themselves. “Three of the most important words we can put together are ‘I don’t know,’” Pearl says. “We’re trained to believe we have to know. When we say, ‘I don’t know’ over and over again until we’re comfortable with it, we can really grow.” Pearl says “The Reconnection” differs from traditional energy work because it involves the trio of energy, light and information. Practitioners use their hands — usually held several inches above the patient — to deliver a bandwidth of vibrational frequencies carrying corrective information to that person’s body. Gary Schwartz and his team of researchers at the University of Arizona’s Human Energy Systems Laboratory have performed six controlled experiments that substantiated the electromagnetic transference during a healing session. The frequencies create coherence and order in the body, according to Dr. William Tiller, a professor emeritus at Stanford, who measured huge energy surges in rooms where reconnection workshops were in session. UK brain researcher Dr. Richard Hansbury observed that when patients received reconnection energy during EEGs, their brainwaves organized into states of peak performance. These and other results have led researchers to refer to reconnection healing as “information medicine.” Schwartz conducted research that showed the frequencies and light transmitted during reconnection healing can change DNA. “We have research showing the DNA of both humans and plants becomes modified, restructured or, as I like to say, reconnected,” Pearl says. “It raises the level of light we emit as human beings; light plays a very important part in healing. ... Our healing techniques have all the
Cancer Care providers get focused
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E
W LL spring
E at to Li vE
fish for compliments By rUss Lane
L
ow calorie, low fat, low carb … Rise above these insipid “lowcavore” health foods by seeking inherently healthful (and interesting) international flavors. No summer dish exemplifies these guidelines better than ceviche. Traditionally a South American staple, ceviche is fresh, diced fish or shellfish marinated in lime juice and paired with peppers. The fish is “cooked” from its reaction to acid, requiring no heating, frying or oil. Think salsa with fish instead of tomatoes to grasp its versatility and healthfulness. “Ceviche is one of the true superfoods. [Like sushi], it’s one of those foods that’s easy to eat, healthy and refreshing,” says Edgar Caro, chefowner of Baru Bistro & Tapas. Caro recently tweaked the four-year-old Latin eatery’s ceviche. For his updated recipe, he creates a quick version of tigre de leche (the remaining juice
from ceviche — itself a lively hangover cure) in advance to intensify flavor. His secret ingredient, a teaspoon of Sprite, lends sweetness and lift while tempering the peppers’ heat. Finally, he uses a very short marinating time. Most ceviche recipes recommend at least 30 minutes to “cook” the fish. “The texture is close to a mediumrare steak,” Caro says. “In Latin countries, they let ceviche sit (for) a day. (To) me personally, that texture’s like a wet paper towel.” Inspired by Caro’s advance-prep tigre de leche (a technique similar to strengthening soup with a base), my version purees a small amount of all ingredients and then adds the fresh ingredients to boost flavor. Serve in its tigre de leche with whole-wheat tortilla chips, or strain the ceviche and use it as a topping for greens. Mix the tigre de leche with oil for a quick salad dressing.
HealtH & Wellness > bestofneworleans.com > JUlY 12 > 2011
cEvichE With straWbErry and ancho pEppErs
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h E a Lt h n E Ws b r i E f s
By Lora GhawaLy and Kandace Power Graves
Bright and nuanced, the flavor of multiple peppers is tempered with cilantro’s high note.
rEcipE by russ LanE sErvEs 6 as appEtizEr, 3-4 as a main dish
1 pound frEsh sEa bass or tiLapia, pattEd dry and cubEd into 1/3-inch dicE 1 tEaspoon gratEd LimE zEst 3/4 cup frEsh-squEEzEd LimE juicE (about 4-5 LimEs) 1/4 cup frEsh-squEEzEd orangE juicE (about tWo orangEs) 1-2 smaLL ancho pEppErs, stEmmEd, sEEdEd and mincEd 1 smaLL jaLapEno chiLE pEppEr, sEEdEd, stEmmEd and mincEd 1 mEdium garLic cLovE, mincEd 1/2 mEdium-sizEd rEd onion, haLvEd and sLicEd thin 4 scaLLions, sLicEd thin 3 1/2 tabLEspoons frEsh ciLantro LEavEs, mincEd 1/2 cup pontchartrain straWbErriEs, cut into 1/3inch dicE saLt and ground bLack pEppEr to tastE
What &
hoW
1. Dice, slice, juice or mince each ingredient. Remember to slice strawberries and fish to similar sizes. 2. (Optional for stronger flavor) Puree a small amount of every ingredient (except strawberries and salt and pepper) with a food processor or immersion blender. 3. Place pureed fish mixture into a nonreactive bowl (glass or stainless steel), and add each ingredient except salt and pepper. Let the mixture sit anywhere from 8-30 minutes. 4. Taste mixture and add pepper and salt in small increments, continually tasting. This will avoid unnecessary sodium while maintaining flavor balance. 5. Serve with whole-wheat tortilla chips or pita bread, or drain and serve with salad. Per serving: calories 103, calories from fat 17, fat 2g, cholesterol 31 mg, carbohydrates 7g, dietary fiber 2g, sugars 2g, protein 14g. Vitamin A 41 percent daily value, vitamin C 45 percent daily value, potassium 456mg.
cEvichE tips Protein: Any fish or shellfish will work for ceviche, but the keyword is fresh. Because ceviche’s a no-cook dish, the freshest fish keeps the risk of bacteria to a minimum. If using scallops or shellfish, quickly poach the fish to ease any contamination concerns. Be sure to thoroughly dry excess water from the fish so the tigre de leche isn’t diluted. Heat: The Peruvian pepper aji amarillo appears in most ceviche recipes, but you can mix and match any combination of peppers and preparation techniques. For example, a roasted poblano paired with finely diced fresh jalapeno provides a complex flavor and contrasting texture. Acid: Lime juice is traditional. Liven it up with any combination of citrus (lemon, orange, etc.). The more juice, the faster its acids will cook the fish.
Consider Sweetness: Temper the pepper’s heat and lime’s acid with sweetness to help solidify flavors. Try fresh or dried fruit or roasted vegetables (garlic, onion, etc.) Caro uses Sprite in his ceviche, and another chef’s recipe uses plum to a similar effect. Texture: A little crispness goes a long way — fresh onion is the simplest way to add contrast, and Peruvian ceviches often feature cooked sweet potato and corn. More Flavor: Garlic and cilantro are mainstays, but a hint of ginger or celery has potential, too. Tips: Cut ingredients to similar sizes, and dice the fish finely for fast preparation. Be sure to prepare the ceviche in a nonreactive bowl. This also allows the acid to prepare the fish faster and maintain the dish’s freshness. Ceviche can marinate from 10 minutes to one day. The texture changes with duration, so see which texture you prefer.
rEducing strEss in grand isLE The Grand Isle Community Center (3811 Hwy. 1, Grand Isle, 985-787-3500) will host a free two-session presentation on managing stress from 10 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. July 23. Guest speaker Dr. James S. Gordon, founder and director of the Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington, D.C., will tell attendees how deep breathing and listening and moving to music can help relieve stress symptoms such as insomnia, low energy, worrying and more. He also will explain the concept of food as medicine and how to detoxify your body nutritionally. There are activities for children and teens, massage and ear acupuncture for relaxation and a free lunch. — Ghawaly diapEr With a purposE FuzziBunz will donate $1 to Autism Speaks for every “Light It Up Blue” cloth diaper sold. The company, founded by Louisiana native Tereson Dupuy, is producing a bright blue diaper for the autism fundraiser. Autism Speaks is a national organization that funds research and helps families impacted by autism. FuzziBunz Light It Up Blue cloth diapers retail for $17.95 to $19.95 each, depending on the size, and are available at Zuka Baby (2124 Magazine St., 596-6540; www.zukababy. com) and Better Bottoms Diaper Delivery (731-7500; www.betterbottomsdiapers.com). Dupuy designed FuzziBunz as a reusable pocket cloth diaper with three layers that guard against leaks, keep the baby’s skin dry and can be adjusted for absorbency. They come in 14 fashion colors, including the bright blue one that benefits Autism Speaks. In the 11 years since Dupuy founded the company, FuzziBunz has become an international retailer. — Graves positivE strokEs Painting with a Twist (2132 E. Gause Blvd., Slidell, 985-641-6433; www.paintingwithatwist.com/slidell) hosts its Painting with a Purpose fundraiser for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society from 7 p.m. to 11 p.m. July 29. Sign up for the event at the Painting With a Twist website or call its office. Painting with a Twist was originally created to give post-Hurricane Katrina victims an artistic outlet. It now offers step-bystep instructional art classes to the Slidell area. — Ghawaly
Paying Back the caregivers Home Instead Senior Care (2750 Lake Villa Drive, Suite 305, Metairie, 455-4911; www.homeinstead.com/339) is sponsoring a free, five-day cruise for a family caregiver from Orleans or Jefferson parish. To enter, submit a brief story outlining why the nominated person deserves to win a cruise and submit it at the Home Instead website or mail it to the office. The deadline is Aug. 31, and a winner will be announced Sept. 30. The contest pays expenses for a caregiver and a guest to fly to Fort Lauderdale, Fla., where they will board the Royal Caribbean’s Liberty of the Seas cruise ship. The vacation includes stops in Belize City, Belize, and Cozumel, Mexico. — Ghawaly
Pennington conducts study for seniors Pennington Biomedical Research Center (6400 Perkins Road, Baton Rouge, 225-763-2500; www.pbrc.edu) is enrolling senior citizens older than 70 to participate in a study to determine whether a daily aspirin regimen can lower the risk of dementia and cardiovascular disease. The five-year ASPREE study is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health and will be conducted at 25 sites in the United States and Australia. The sites are now recruiting more than 19,000 participants. To be eligible, recruits must be in overall good health. The ASPREE study at Pennington, part of the Louisiana State University system, complements LIFE, a more comprehensive study seeking to determine what lifestyle changes can help the elderly remain healthy and independent for a longer period of time. To enroll in either study, call (225) 763-3000. Study participants will attend two screening visits, an annual visit and have phone interviews at three-, six- and nine-month intervals. Participants will receive $20 per annual visit for taking part in the study. — Graves
there’s an aPP for … whatever Got a funky mole, eczema or a pesky rash? SkinofMine.com has an app for that. Use your smartphone or computer to visit the site, which offers patients a quick, low-cost private dermatological consultation with online diagnosis and prescriptions for conditions including acne, wrinkles, spider veins and moles. The program, conceived by entrepreneur Sean Elwell and MIT scientist Dr. Ellen Kislal, launched in Louisiana last month and is expected to be available in all 50 states by the end of the year. Using the program, patients can download images and information about their dermatological condition and a medical professional licensed in their state will offer a diagnosis and any prescriptions needed within 24 hours (guaranteed) at an average cost of about $50. There is no charge for setting up an account at SkinofMine.com or for uploading photos. Treatment rates are set by individual doctors, and they can call in prescriptions to a pharmacy chosen by the patient. The iPhone app is available on iTunes. SkinofMine.com does not accept advertising and includes news coverage of medical information. — Graves ochsner goes viral Ochsner Health System is enhancing its critical care hospital units with Philips’ VISICU state-of-the-art eICU program, which provides two-way audio-video links between a physician at a patient’s bedside and critical care doctors and nurses off-site. The program allows collaborations in making decisions about a patient’s care. The software detects and advises clinicians of trends and changes in a patient’s condition and has proved to reduce complications and shorten the length of a hospital stay. About 150 beds in Ochsner hospitals across Louisiana will be equipped with the program, which is being installed this month. — Ghawaly
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HealtH & Wellness > bestofneworleans.com > JUlY 12 > 2011
strong showing Ochsner Health System ranks in the top 20 percent of health systems in the United States, according to a Top Health Systems study by Thomson Reuters. Ochsner was the only health system in Louisiana to make the list. Ochsner’s eight hospitals claimed a place in the top 20 percent in Best Performing Systems. The study discovered these systems often care for sicker and poorer patients, but also have better patient outcomes, efficiency, higher-quality care and better patient satisfaction scores than other institutions that deal with underserved communities. The study examined mortality, complications, length of stay, patient safety and other core measures. The data generated by top performing systems provides benchmarks for health system leaders. — Ghawaly
fresh Produce for seniors Farmers Market Nutrition Program coupons are now available for Louisiana’s senior citizens, says Mike Strain, commissioner of the state Department of Agriculture and Forestry. The coupons can be used to purchase fresh fruits and vegetables from participating farmers markets and roadside stands. To qualify, a person must be at least 60 years old and earn less than 185 percent of the poverty level income: $20,147 for a single-person household or $27,214 for a two-person household. Seniors who qualify receive $24 worth of coupons, which can be redeemed trough Nov. 30. For more information, call (985) 3459483 or visit www.ldaf.la.gov. — Ghawaly
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Our experienced team of physicians and specialists provide quality, compassionate care to Uptown. We offer a wide range of healthcare services at our hospital with 24-hour emergency care and two conveniently located health centers, where we provide services such as primary care and internal medicine with same-day/next-day appointments available.
Most major insurance plans accepted at our convenient locations: Hospital: Ochsner Baptist Medical Center 2700 Napoleon Ave. 504-899-9311
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