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AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006

DECEMBER 21, 2012

F THE SKINNY ON JANUARY 2013 Coming up in January, two new columnsts will help us navigate the increasingly complicated world of access to healthcare, answering questions about Medicare and all the latest in federal healthcare reform and what it means to employers, providers and patients alike.

Also, look for a new quarterly insert, MY Life...

MY Way..

MY Healthy Lifestyle that will feature lots of health, fitness, and nutritional information. +

irst of all, we hope this festive front page isn’t too Christmasy for some of our readers. If so, we sincerely and humbly apologize.

Let’s see... where were we? Oh yes, we were about to introduce our topic du jour.

By the time you read this, your precious little dumplings — or in some cases, grand-dumplings — will probably be out of school for Christmas break. What fun!

While mom and dad slave away at work, the kids can tear the house apart and do nothing except eat Cheez Puffs for breakfast and stale Christmas cookies for lunch, all while still in their pajamas. (Editor’s note: in Paris, this delicacy is called chez pouffes, by the way.)

During this respite from the rigors of education their #1 activity, we predict, will consist of watching TV. Therein lies the connection to the classic 1958 movie poster you see displayed just to the right of this column.

Granted, televisions aren’t exactly crawling, slimy things, but pretty much everything else on the poster rings true.

For the record, the Medical Examiner does not subscribe to the belief that televisions or Wii or computers will bring about the fall of Western civilization.

There are always calamity howlers, but what we’re offering here is just some food for thought.

The power of compounded interest Please see The Money Doctor on page 16 for actual information about fiscal health. Here on page 1, let’s talk about doing something — anything — for

many hours every day. And then thinking that it has no effect on us. That sounds far-fetched, doesn’t it? Yet that pretty accurately describes adults and their TV viewing habits.

The average American watches more than 4 hours of TV per day. That’s great, since the TV is actually on in the typical home 6 hours and 47 minutes per day. So we’re successfully ignoring it for more than two full hours a day.

As for kids, they spend an average of 900 hours per year in school. And 1,500 hours

watching TV. That’s a lot of time. When it comes to the super-young, we ran across this figure: “two-thirds of infants and toddlers watch [TV] an average of two hours a day.

By the time the average child finishes elementary school, he will have seen 8,000 murders on TV shows. (All these figures, incidentally, were compiled

by A.C. Nielsen Co. We found them on the website of Cal State Northridge: www.csun.edu/ science.)

The total number of violent

acts the average youth will see by age 18 is estimated to be in the vicinity of 200,000. Kids see an average of about 20,000 30second commercials per year, a figure which grows to some 2 million by age 65.

Two thirds of American families watch television while eating dinner.

When asked if they would prefer to spend time with their fathers or watch television, 54 percent of 4-6 year-olds chose TV. Ouch. That hurts.

Please see BRAIN EATERS page 9

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

DECEMBER 21, 2012

YOU’RE ALMOST

HOME

C

ongratulations! We’re in the home stretch of the most wonderful — oops! strike that — the most dangerous time of the year. The number of risks we all face from various sources between Thanksgiving and New Years Day is astounding. Among the dangers that are at or near their peak this time of year: • impaired/drunk driving • charity scams • identity theft • online sales scams • colds and flu • burglary • depression • weight gain That partial list could spawn 16 pages worth of depressing statistics and protective strategies, but let’s keep things light, brief, and to the point. We’re trying to be helpful here, not depressing.

• Drunk Driving The good news is that we’re improving: 2011 was the first year since forever that national drunk driving deaths fell below 10,000. They dropped from 10,136 in 2010 (31 percent of all fatalities) to 9,878 in 2011. In Georgia, the number went from 299 in 2010 to 277 last year, a 7.4 percent drop. South Carolina did even better, with drunk driving fatalities going from 353 in 2010 to 315 last year, an 11 percent reduction. Impaired driving still represents 38 percent of all highway fatalities in South Carolina, however. In Georgia, it’s 23 percent.

Nationally, nearly 400 people were killed in drunk driving accidents across the nation during just the last two weeks of December 2011 alone.

Statistically, do you know what the worst two holidays are? Measured by how many fatal accidents were alcohol-related, the worst offender (according to stats for one recent year from madd.org and the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration) is New Year’s Day, when 68.9 percent of all fatal accidents involved alcohol. New Year’s Eve didn’t even crack the top ten, but then, most of the drunk driving takes place after the magic moment of midnight, officially New Year’s Day. The second-worst day for drunk driving deaths? Super Bowl Sunday.

We all know the antidotes: don’t drive impaired; designate a sober driver or arrange for another safe way home. Don’t let an impaired driver get behind the wheel, even if it’s a stranger. Call law enforcement if necessary. We know the antidotes; the key is to take advantage of them.

• Scams The next three items on the list can be fought with a healthy dose of common sense. Give to local charities, in person if possible. Keep your credit and debit cards in a safe place, especially when shopping. Cover the keypad when entering your PIN if someone is nearby. Don’t click on “Delivery Notification” emails that look like they’re from UPS. Sweet! I have a package! No, you’re about to be scammed. Ignore such messages; delete them unopened.

• Colds & Flu Many of the best protections are the simplest: wash your hands frequently; keep your hands away from your eyes, nose and mouth; stay hydrated,

TAKE A GUESS: what do you think the two worst days for drunk driving are?

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ALMOST HOME… from page 2 and consider buying a humidifier. Talk to your doctor or pharmacist about getting a flu shot. Flu season ain’t over yet. Not by a long shot.

• Burglary Criminals are stupid, but not that stupid. Look at it from their perspective.

• This time of year it gets dark earlier.

• People are out of the house more.

• They’re out shopping so they can bring home lots cof ool stuff for criminals to steal.

• It takes cash to buy all that stuff, so they’re looking to score your cash and plastic too.

• They know people travel for the holidays, leaving their homes empty for days on end.

• And they know people are full of that undefinable “Christmas spirit.” They might be more inclined to help strangers, and some of those strangers will take advantage of that for mischievious ends.

It all adds up to a perfect storm.

The antidotes: be on red alert, especially in dark parking lots. Lock the doors the second you get into your car. Shop with a friend rather than alone. Keep your house — doors and windows — locked, and that goes double for your garage.

Keep goodies stored in your trunk, not out in plain sight. Ladies, keep that purse closed and tucked securely under your arm. Guys, leave the wallet home: just bring your driver’s license and the cash or plastic you intend to use, and keep it in a front pants pocket.

• Depression For far too many people, the Christmas season is like being the teenager home alone on prom night. It feels like the whole world is out there having the most joyous wonderful time — everyone except you.

The truth, of course, is that this is an extremely stressful time for most celebrants. While you think others are all out there enjoying a real live Publix commercial, they’re much more likely to be

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

stressed over parties and dinners with co-workers and family members they don’t really care very much for. They’re likely to be sweating about their over-extended credit cards too.

Are you alone this holiday season? Count your blessings. In classic the-other-side-of-the-pastureis-always-greener thinking, many of the people who are in a dizzy holiday whirlwind would gladly trade places with you. Savor that.

As for debt, can you name a single present you gave or received last year or the the year before? Perhaps you can. But if not, it’s a clear message that there is no need to plunge oneself into debt for soon-to-be-forgotten purchases.

Here at Medical Examiner world headquarters, we subscribe to the concept of Anyday presents, gifts given when someone is least expecting them, instead of when their hand is out in expectation, and when any gift is lost in the shuffle of dozens of others. That takes the prssure off, and might even allow the time for a really well-thought-out gift, maybe even one you made yourself.

• Weight gain In the same way some people have been saving money for months so they’ll be able to splurge at Christmas, some start dieting in September so they can pack on a few pounds over the holidays. While that might be a better strategy than being overweight when the holidays begin and being more overweight when they’re over, where is it written that weight gain is mandatory during the holidays?

The answer: nowhere.

Nobody really wants to spend all year paying off holiday debts in the same way no one wants to lose the battle of the bulge in November and December and have to begin 2013 on carrot sticks and celery. Instead, set a ridiculously unrealistic goal for maximum holiday weight gain. And then go about making your goal come true. +

Why subscribe to the Medical Examiner?

Because no one should have to make a trip to the doctor or the hospital just to read Augusta’s Most Salubrious Newspaper.

What’s your story?

Nearly all of us — even doctors and nurses — are sometimes patients. Perhaps you were recently injured playing your favorite sport, or years ago you somehow got hurt without even leaving your favorite recliner. Maybe you were diagnosed with a dreaded disease, mugged in a dark and lonely parking lot, or you stubbed your toe in the safety of your own bedroom. On the other hand, perhaps you needed medical attention 5,000 miles from home. Whatever your medical experience, we’d like to hear your story for our Medicine in the First Person feature. It can be frightening or funny, ordinary or extraordinary, just a few paragraphs long or quite a lengthy tale, bylined or anonymous. We’ll publish your encounters with the medical profession as often as we receive them. + Send your submissions for Medicine in the First Person to the Augusta Medical Examiner via e-mail: info@AugustaRx.com or to PO Box 397, Augusta, GA 30903-0397. (The Medical Examiner reserves the right to accept, reject, or edit any submission at its sole discretion.)

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The

Money Doctor appears exclusively in the Medical Examiner’s 3rd Friday issue of even months, written by Augusta’s own Bill Cleveland, a Certified Financial Planner named by Medical Economics magazine as one of the “150 Best Financial Advisors for Doctors” in the U.S.

AUGUSTA

Read it and reap +

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The Medical Examiner’s mission: to provide information on topics of health and wellness of interest to general readers, to offer information to assist readers in wisely choosing their healthcare providers, and to serve as a central source of news within every part of the Augusta medical community. + +

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DECEMBER 21, 2012

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

What is God Up To? “One thing I know: the only ones among you who will be really happy are those who will have sought and found how to serve.”

— Albert Schweitzer

Helen Blocker-Adams

D

ecember is my favorite month of the year – after the month of May, my birthday month. Yes, celebrating the birth of Christ is paramount in my reflections as we celebrate Christmas and I am so grateful for that.

But I love December because it is my time to reflect back on the year and look back at my successes and failure.

What did I accomplish, or did I leave some things undone?

Many years ago I stopped making a list of New Year’s resolutions because we all know they don’t work for the most part. As a solutionsoriented person, I am a little

more proactive when it comes to getting things done.

My pastor is an incredible visionary and he told us early in the year that 2012 would be the best year of our lives – that doors would open we never believed would – that we have to stay diligent in our quest for what God wants in our lives. I just finished reading a book written by a pastor friend of mine called You Can’t Run From Your Purpose. The book focused on the story of Jonah and it was quite fascinating the way the author dissected a couple of chapters, verse by verse.

Finding and discovering the purpose – God’s purpose – for our lives is a pursuit that keeps many of us perplexed – including me. One day, later than sooner for many of us, we realize that God’s purpose for our lives and our purpose are completely different. Have you come to that realization

yet?

I recall telling my mother years ago that I wanted written on my tombstone, “She was committed to making a difference.” I still feel that way. I have been trying to make a difference in the lives of people and our community for as long as I can remember. I have served in a variety of ways, including writing this column, which I enjoy. But just because you enjoy doing something and are good at one thing or another does not mean that is what God’s calling on your life is.

Confusing, indeed. You can read every book on purpose, study your morning devotionals, hire a life coach, talk with your pastor, or confide in a friend or family member – and all of those sources are good and serve a purpose. But in the end it is your deep relationship with

God – your thirst for His word and what He is saying to you through those words in the Bible — it’s when you turn there that the clarity of God’s purpose in your life will be revealed.

Unfortunately, there are no short cuts – no matter how hard you may wish for them. The distractions, good and bad, will consume you, sometimes for years, and believe it or not, all of this is still a part of God’s plan for you. It’s like pieces of a puzzle slowly coming together. Enjoy the rest of 2012 and I pray 2013 is the year when the “Ah ha” moment looks you in the face and you find yourself in total alignment with God’s purpose in your life.

Happy New Year! + Helen Blocker-Adams is Executive Producer/Host of “The Helen Blocker Adams Show with Co-Host Sammy Lilly”, which airs Monday through Thursday 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. on 103.7 FM/1600 AM WKZK The Spirit. She is also Founder of Unlikely Allies Emerging Leaders Conference. You can contact her at hba@hbagroup-intl.com or visit her at www.helenblockeradams.com

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DECEMBER 21, 2012

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

WHAT EVERYBODY OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT THE PRESENT

T

he future does not exist.

Neither does the past.

The only that thing exists is the PRESENT. However, the present is deeply rooted in the past, and the present is the past for the future.

That sounds strangely like the mumbo-jumbo from the 60s back when the Hippies knew everything. Maybe you have heard some to the things they said: Tune in, turn one, and drop out. That bit of idiocy came from a Harvard Professor named Timothy Leary. It meant: get high on drugs, don’t work and live off your parents and society. It led to a generation of takers who neither worked nor aided in the progress of our society.

Make love, not war. That meant: have no commitments, neither to the opposite sex, tradition, society, freedom,

nor national security. It meant to smoke grass, have sex with anyone of a similar thought process, and demonstrate against the war. It led to hordes of “love children” who had no traditional homes and who depended upon the generosity of the working to provide for them.

E

TH

Best

e n i c i d ME

If it feels good, do it. See paragraph above.

All of this is rooted in living in the moment with no regard for the future. It is like a skydiver reveling in the thrill of a free fall from an airplane without consideration for the sudden stop that is most certainly rapidly approaching.

The free fall is exhilarating, so I am told. But his outcome in the present is highly dependent upon his past: whether or not he learned to parachute correctly, how he packed the parachute, his physical training, and such.

If you have smoked cigarettes in the past, it may not affect your present, but certainly your future is foreshortened, and your bank account has been and will continue to be dented. A recent study shows that the total cost of smoking is $40 per pack. (No, Dear

Hearts that is not a typo. $40 per pack is a hard and fast number.)

If last night you had a glass of wine at home after dinner, it won’t hurt you. Some even think it might benefit you due to the antioxidants present.

The cost was reasonable, a couple dollars at most. You did not get a DUI. You were not a wreck statistic in the morning news. And you did not end up in bed with someone whose medical history was a mystery to you.

Nor was your picture in the Jail Report.

However, had you gone to a club, all of those things could have happened to you. Your past activities could have brutalized your present: your bank account, your medical history, your insurance rates, your rap sheet, your reputation, your life expectancy, your family, your body and your mind.

Another quote from the

Bad Billy Laveau is a retired MD with a pointed sense of humor.

Bad Billy speaks and entertains at public and private events for audiences not subject to cardiac seizure secondary to overwhelming laughter and glee BadBilly@knology.net or 706306-9397

AM

GOT A STORY?

past: Yesterday is dead and gone and Tomorrow is forever coming on.

That is true enough, and it was a great line for a song.

But it is no more relevant than another truth: over 98% of Americans who have colon cancer use toilet paper.

While you cannot change the past, your present can improve your future.

Skip a few nights of going out to nightclubs or sports bars and eateries. Stay home and out of harm’s way.

Invest the savings in getting up to date immunization vaccinations: flu, pneumonia, human papilloma virus, shingles, hepatitis, polio, tetanus, to name a few.

Unless, of course, you want to have these diseases. Then your friends will bring you flowers and mill around your sick bed and speak in low tones about how unfortunate you are while they actually think you were too stupid or

too lazy to take care of your health properly.

Back when I practiced medicine, I offered free immunizations to my employees. Some said immunizations did not always work and did not want to take the shots.

I said that if they took the immunizations and still get sick, I would pay them while they recovered. If they didn’t take the immunizations and got sick, I wouldn’t pay them anything.

They all took shots.

All businesses should do that.

So, live for the present, but let your past and your present enhance your future. It is your choice. Do some health maintenance: get immunized.

It would be a great Christmas present to your family and yourself. +

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“

Every man regards his own life as the New Year’s Eve of time.

— Jean Paul

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Are we there yet?

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DECEMBER 21, 2012

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Adventures in Administration

by Dr. Samir N. Khleif Director, Georgia Health Sciences University Cancer Center

verall cancer death rates have steadily declined over the past 20 years according to the National Cancer Institute’s March 2012 report, Annual Report to the Nation on the Status of Cancer, 1975-2008. NCI Director Harold E. Varmus, M.D., confirmed, “The continued declines in death rates for all cancers, as well as the overall drop in incidence, is powerful evidence that the nation’s investment in cancer research produces lifesaving approaches to cancer prevention, screening, diagnosis and treatment.”

About 30 percent of that investment involves treatment research, including clinical trials, says an Institute of Medicine report.

Cancer clinical trials take new therapies from the lab—where they have already been extensively researched in both bench and animal studies—to the clinic, where patients with cancer can participate, Dr. Khleif if they qualify. According to the NCI, more than 2,000 clinical trials are in progress today, accepting both children and adults with cancer—and because of clinical trials, 12 new drugs or drug uses were FDA-approved in 2010.

Yet, it’s worthwhile to note that in Georgia, cancer deaths in certain areas—such as breast cancer and lung cancer in women—have actually been increasing, according to the latest edition of the Georgia Cancer Data Report (2005). This is why centers in Georgia such as the GHSU Cancer Center are revving up our work in clinical trials. The GHSU Cancer Center alone has 90 phase I, II or III clinical trials open, with 12 new trials set to launch soon.

Those with cancer participating in clinical trials can benefit in two ways.

First, they can receive promising and innovative cancer treatments not available to the general public. While not all clinical trials focus on advanced cancers, a number of our patients have tried all other possible options, and they’re not ready to stop trying.

Second, these patients have a unique opportunity to help other patients with cancer. And based on conversations with our patients, that is by far the most important reason most of them participate in clinical trials. They tell us, “I want to do this so my grandchildren have a treatment option.”

Over the past several decades, we’ve seen this hope come to fruition.

For example, because of clinical trials, a type of immunotherapy called Herceptin has increased the life expectancy of patients with HER2+, an aggressive type of breast cancer.

This exciting work is ongoing. Our researchers are combining immunotherapy agents with other cancer-fighting drugs to boost their effectiveness. And I have opened two new trials—both the first of their kind—investigating immunotherapy-based treatments to improve survival rates for advanced prostate cancer and pancreatic cancer.

Another rapidly growing area is molecular targeted agents, or MTAs— drug therapies that target the molecules involved in cancer growth.

We’re using MTAs in clinical trials here for cancers such as leukemia and lymphoma.

But for clinical trials to happen—and for new drugs to be developed—we need two things. Varmus mentions the first in a follow-up to his earlier statement: “It is also important to note that investments we make today are critical if we hope to see these declines in incidence and death from cancer reflected in future Reports to the Nation.”

Along with increased funding—particularly for historically lower-funded diseases such as lung and pancreatic cancer—we also need to increase awareness among both patients and physicians about clinical trials. As an example, our cancer center never fails to consider whether a patient might be a candidate for a trial.

Because of clinical trials, we can proudly say that 50 percent of cancers can be cured today. But 50 percent is not all cancers. We hope to reach that goal one day—especially with advanced cancers. Are we there yet? Not yet, but hang on—because clinical trials are making sure we’re well on our way. +

‘Despite declines, some cancers are actually increasing here in Georgia.’

Information on GHSU Cancer Center’s clinical trials is available online at http:// www.georgiahealth.edu/cancer/trials/. Or, contact the cancer clinical trials office directly at 706-721-2730 or 888-658-0422.

I

n 1980 St. Joseph Hospital spent ten million dollars building a beautifully conceived set of additions, including a new operating suite, chapel, day surgery, laboratory, radiology and a 100-bed patient care wing. The concepts to accomplish this challenge of connecting new to old were created by an endless number of wonderful people. Despite its complexity the project had very few glitches.

Somewhere along the way it became apparent that the new bed wing needed a name. Not unlike the current effort to find the best name for Augusta’s higher education system, I decided that the name would be determined by popular vote.

That decision was a bit risky but worth the risk.

There was however a pattern that could have been followed. The hospital’s existing wing, the Madonna wing, was named for its purpose: caring for women. What then was to be the purpose for this new wing? The answer: orthopedics. Bones. Maybe its name should be Skeleton or Achilles Heel or The Joint, with the logo of perhaps a skull and cross-bones, Mercury, or a can of WD40.

With the luck of the Irish the name with the most votes was, well, read on, for there were other adventures caused by the construction to tell you about.

Save the T

BAFFLED BY THE BAFFLES Baffles were being hung from the ceiling in the new chapel. The architect, an artistic type of guy, decided that, for aesthetic and acoustical value, he would dangle baffles maybe four feet from the ceiling, about six feet apart to run from side-to-side, parallel to the pews.

To me, they look kind of snazzy, you know, contemporary. The chapel was to be interdenominational but as far as the Nuns were concerned, the chapel was theirs. The Sisters were not into “snazzy.” Down came the baffles.

THE MARBLE MADONNA LOOKING IN OR OUT Most Augustan knew of the Madonna and Child statue now inside the chapel that once graced the hospital lawn. It had to be moved: it stood where the building was to be built.

But where to move it? The architect suggested that it be glassed into the chapel. With an especially made foundation, the statue was moved inside to serve as guardian of the hospital’s front entrance. I believe its present location is a good one. Anyway, don’t suggest that it be moved.

PEEK-A-BOO The architect paid for one mistake both figuratively and literally. After the addition was open and in use it was discovered that those sitting in the new lobby could, when the restroom door was opened, see the urinal in the men’s room. This project was the architect’s first effort, to be used for promoting his skills in the future. As you might guess the exposed urinal disappeared pronto. He covered his goof in a hurry.

“GOVERNING BOARDS EXIST FROM GAVEL TO GAVEL” This is a tenet of administration that I have used a hundred times. Board authority is generated when the board in session and follows its rules of order. Several times during the construction individual board members came to me and said that the front doors of the hospital were too heavy, too hard to open. The doors were up, functioning, attractive and I had no other complaints. To put some weight behind my stubbornness, I even found a hook scale and measured the pull needed to open the doors. I won, but probably shouldn’t have.

They were heavy and awkward. As my mother would tell you, I was not easy. Heavy doors were never a board agenda item and remained, but were replaced by automatic doors as soon as I was gone.

BLACK BRICKS NO MORE It is time for me to expose what I think is a secret. A requirement for the appearance of the $10 million construction budget was that the new and the old would blend. The time had come to start laying bricks. The architect ask me to consider a change.

The existing building was bricked with a pattern of brick which included an intermittent black brick (take a look next time you’re at Trinity). The black brick was expected to give the facade personality. The architect explained that leaving the black brick out would lower the price and speed up the project. And “besides no one will ever notice.”

To avoid another community survey, I approved leaving the black bricks out. If I was wrong it certainly would have been a monumental blunder and probably a board agenda item. A lot heavier than the doors. I never told any one this story before and was never asked about it. I guess it was not noticed. I may find out after this piece is published.

SAVE THE “T” The new wing of course was and is named ‘Trinity’ (Father, Son and Holy Spirit). Beautiful and meaningful. I assume the current owner took the current hospital name for the hospital from the name of the wing. I hope so. The “T” has been saved. + Editor’s note: This series is by Bill Atkinson, former CEO of Trinity Hospital (then St. Joseph Hospital), and the author of the comprehensive 2009 Medical Examiner series on the founding of the Augusta area’s major healthcare providers.

DECEMBER 21, 2012

Don’t Lick the Beaters and other interesting food facts by dietetic interns with University Hospital’s Augusta Area Dietetic Internship Program

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

What’s an SSB? Find out here.

new study done

by Healthy Eating Research found that obesity rates have more than tripled for adolescents ages 12 to 19 and more than quadrupled for children ages 6 to 11. It’s more evidence of the drastic and troubling increase in childhood obesity over the past four decades. Among the culprits: the surge of sugar in Western diets has exacerbated the unfortunate trend and has been a topic of concern by many health professionals.

Indeed, one does not have to look past the ingredient label of a soft-drink to notice an alarmingly high amount of sugar. In a 20 oz. bottle of Coca Cola there are 240 calories, and 65 grams of sugar. That’s more than 16 teaspoons. A Sobe Mango Melon 20 oz. bottle contains 280 calories and 70 grams of sugar.

This abundance of sugar in sweet drinks has led to greater caloric intake and, in fact, by 2004, 13% of the average adolescents’ daily calorie intake came from sugar sweetened beverages, known in brief as SSBs, averaging 300 calories per day(1). It is not surprising that SSB consumption has been blamed as a likely contributor to childhood obesity.

Not only do SSBs likely increase risk for childhood obesity, they are also associated with tooth decay and weaker bones. SSB consumption is replacing more nutrient-rich beverages that contain vitamins and minerals vital to growth and development. Research has shown a correlation between SSB consumption and

inadequate intake of several important nutrients including calcium, iron, folate, and vitamin A(2).

As sugary beverages have grown more popular among children, so have grown portion sizes, more frequent consumption, and the overall increase in excess calories from SSBs. From 1977 to 1996, the amount of SSB consumption among children rose by up to 85 percent, the number of SSBs per day increased from 2 to 2.6, and the average SSB serving size increased by 44 percent(2).

Most children today consume four to six times more added sugars than the maximum recommended daily amount(3).

Reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is an important goal in promoting health and reducing childhood obesity.

Because of the proliferation of sugar in our diets and the difficulty in avoiding sugar, it is important to be able to identify beverages that are high in sugar content. You can’t avoid something you aren’t aware of.

Sugar sweetened beverages, are drinks with added caloric sweeteners which include the following: • Sodas: carbonated beverages with added sugars (Pepsi, Coke, Sprite, Mountain Dew, etc) • Fruit drinks/punches: Fruit drinks and juices with added sugars (Minute Maid, Snapple) • Sports drinks: Beverages promising re-hydration after physical activity (Gatorade, Powerade, Propel) • Sweetened coffee or tea drinks: (Lipton Ice Tea, Nestea)

• Energy drinks: (Redbull, RockStar) Additionally, although not included in the list of qualifying SSBs, 100% juices can contain as much sugar and calories as SSBs. For example, a 16oz bottle of Langers 100% apple juice contains 52 grams of sugar and 240 calories. Even though these fruit juices contain naturally occurring sugars from fruit, the high sugar and calorie content can lead to unwanted weight gain. These drinks too should be enjoyed in moderation.

So if we cut out the sodas and juice boxes what’s left? Drink water! Water is naturally free of sugar and calories, and is always

available free of charge.

Changing what is available at meal and snack times can be a tough transition. Switch from 100% juice to whole fruit.

Fruit has fewer calories and unlike juice, has fiber. If you do allow your child to have a sugar sweetened drink or juice, downsize the portion. Use a smaller cup, and add water or seltzer to juice to cut calories.

Role modeling healthy beverage choices, and controlling beverage availability at home are great strategies to promote change. +

We

your

— by Jacqueline Herling University Dietetic Intern References: 1. R.D. McKinlay, “Childhood Obesity: The Links to Drinks” 2. S. Gortmaker, M. Long, Y.C. Wang, “The Negative Impact of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages on Children’s Health” A Research Synthesis, November 2009 3. American Heart Association

+ I

M.E.

THE AUGUSTA MEDICAL EXAMINER AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER

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+8

P harmacy 411

OUR NEWSSTANDS Medical locations: • Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Ctr, 15th St., Main Entrance • Dept. of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, Uptown Div., Wrightsboro Rd., main lobby • Doctors Hospital, 3651 Wheeler Rd, ER Lobby Entrance • Doctors Hospital, 3651 Wheeler Rd, Employee Entrance (near the Joseph M. Still Burn Center entrance) • Eisenhower Hospital, Main Entrance, Fort Gordon • George C. Wilson Drive (by medical center Waffle House and mail boxes) • GHSU Hospital, 1120 15th Street, South & West Entrances • GHSU Medical Office Building, Harper Street, Main Entrance • GHSU Medical Office Building, Harper Street, Parking Deck entrance • GHSU Hospital, Emergency Room, Harper Street, Main Entrance • GHSU Children’s Medical Center, Harper Street, Main Lobby • GHSU, Laney-Walker Boulevard transit stop, Augusta • Select Specialty Hospital, Walton Way, Main entrance lobby • Trinity Hospital, Wrightsboro Road, main lobby by elevators • Trinity Hospital Home Health, Daniel Village, main lobby • University Health Federal Credit Union/ University Hospital Human Resources, 1402 Walton Way, Main Lobby • University Hospital, 1350 Walton Way, Emergency Room lobby area • University Hospital, 1350 Walton Way, Outside Brown & Radiology/Day Surgery • University Hospital - Columbia County, 465 N. Belair Road, Main Lobby • University Hospital Prompt Care, 3121 Peach Orchard Road, Augusta

Very little if anything about healthcare is inexpensive, and that includes medicine. Tiny pills can command large prices. Over-the-counter medications may be less expensive, but are they also less effective? Find the answers to lots of your drug store questions in this column written

by Augusta pharmacists Chris and Lee Davidson exclusively for the Medical Examiner.

WHAT DID THAT PHARMACIST SAY?

Y

ou have probably seen this scenario in your pharmacy.

The customer is at the register picking up their prescriptions and the most important thing at that moment is their cell phone call. While the pharmacist is busy explaining medicines the customer will put in their body, they’re having a great time on the phone and are not paying the least bit of attention to the information being presented.

Sometimes they even come back, complaining that their medicine is upsetting their stomach even though they were told to take it with food. Sometimes they even say “Nobody told me anything about my medicine.”

How can the information be conveyed in a clear manner?

Maybe the pharmacy could refuse to wait on a customer who is on a cell phone and take the next person in line instead until the phone call is ended. From personal experience I can tell you that is a very quick way to not only get someone off the phone, but also to cause a scene in the pharmacy about not taking people in the order they arrived.

Pharmacies are, after all, a business and they try not to offend their customers, but at the same time, we have a duty to inform and protect our customers from side effects, drug interactions,

Around town: • Barney’s Pharmacy, 2604 Peach Orchard Rd. • Birth Control Source, 1944 Walton Way • ASU Student Bookstore • Blue Sky Kitchen, 990 Broad Street • Columbia County Library, main branch lobby, Ronald Reagan Drive, Evans • Enterprise Mill (North Tower), 1450 Greene Street, Augusta • Daniel Village Barber Shop, Wrightsboro Road at Ohio Ave. • Hartley’s Uniforms, 1010 Druid Park Ave, Augusta • International Uniforms, 1216 Broad Street, Augusta • Marshall Family Y, Belair Rd, Evans • Mellow Mushroom, 12th and Broad Streets, Augusta • Southside Family Y, Tobacco Road, Augusta • Surrey Center, Surrey Center Pharmacy, Highland Avenue, Augusta • Top-Notch Car Wash, 512 N. Belair Road, Evans • Wild Wing Cafe, 3035 Washington Road, Augusta

Plus... 500+ doctors offices throughout the area for staff and waiting rooms, as well as nurses stations and waiting rooms of area hospitals.

DECEMBER 21, 2012

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Kerr Law, P.C. knows how to fight insurance company tactics designed to deny your disability claims. We have recovered millions of dollars for our clients. Call us today www.KerrDisabilityLaw.com In Augusta Toll Free: (877) 631-0330 From Atlanta: (404) 382-5411 PO Box 211006, Augusta, Georgia 30917

and (sometimes) themselves.

The result is an attempt to communicate, sometimes under trying circumstances.

Patient counseling involves telling the patient about their medications and answering questions from the patient.

At the end of the session the patient will hopefully know why they are taking the medication, in addition to knowing what to expect as far as side effects and how to take the medications.

They should also be armed with the knowledge of how to avoid interactions with other medicines, including over-thecounter medicines and vitamins. Please understand that this is to be done regardless of how the prescription is picked up.

That includes pharmacy drive-thru windows, so cars cannot fly through like it’s a McDonalds.

There is no one-time-fits-all situation when it comes to pharmacy transactions, but in pharmacy school we are taught that three to five minutes — yes, minutes — will usually be needed to cover a single prescription transaction. Of course, a pharmacy cannot spend five minutes per prescription for every prescription that goes out the door. (Nor do we need to: some, after all, are refills.) There are, however, prescription transactions that require more than five minutes to thoroughly discuss all the information involved in understanding a new prescription. For example, a newly diagnosed diabetic will need to discuss medications, how to test blood sugar at home, and dietary concerns.

But how do you know that the patient holding up the line ahead of you is getting necessary information or just asking senseless questions? Well, you shouldn’t know. By virtue of patient privacy laws, it is forbidden for others to be involved in the pharmacist-to-patient conversation. Most pharmacies will try to take involved conversations down to an out of the way location while a second staff member continues to help the rest of the customers.

If it seems the pharmacy line is moving slowly, take a second to ask yourself, “what if my parent or grandparent had a dozen questions to ask of their pharmacist?” How would you want that person to be treated? Also remember that the only stupid question is one that is not asked. If it is important to the person who asks, then that should be good enough for us.

The counseling session is the patient’s best chance to find out information. Ask questions and understand the medicine you are receiving before leaving the pharmacy. When you leave the pharmacy with a prescription, you are putting a foreign substance into your body, so should know how to take it and what to do to protect yourself from possible problems associated with the medicine.

So put the phone away and take your time and get the facts, but let the other pharmacy patrons have the same courtesy. + Questions about this article or suggestions for future columns can be sent to us at cjdlpdrph@bellsouth.net Written for the Medical Examiner by Augusta pharmacists Chris and Lee Davidson (cjdlpdrph@bellsouth.net )

DECEMBER 21, 2012

9+

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

BRAIN EATERS… from page 1 Parents spend, on average, three and a half minutes per week with their children in meaningful conversation. Well at least that is an encouraging sign. Speaking of meaningful conversations...

TV cures loneliness Do you know someone who responds to an invitation with, “Oh no, I don’t want to miss my shows”? When you consider that we spend perhaps eight hours a day at work plus our lunch hour and maybe an hour or more commuting, then add another seven or eight hours of sleep, time starts to get precious. Throw in, on average, more than four hours a day in front of the tube and there is little time left for those meaningful conversations referred to earlier. You know, the ones that take up three or four minutes of our remaining time each week.

But when someone has “their shows,” in all likelihood they don’t miss their invisible friends.

After all, they’ve got their regular visits from their on-screen friends. Most of us must admit we fit somewhere in this picture, whether to a greater or lesser degree.

TV makes three and a half minute conversations seem interminable Kids have a skewed concept of time to begin with. An hour is a long time to a young child.

That’s why television, especially children’s programing, is lightning-fast and loaded with stimuli. The rest of the world seems pretty slow and drab by comparison. Iowa State University researchers found that students who stare at a screen for more than two hours per day are twice as likely to be diagnosed with attention problems, which is thought-provoking when you consider that the average amount of time a child spends watching television and playing video games is more than four hours a day.

is now

• Specialty Pharmacy • Home Infusion Ser vices • IV Nursing

Getting back to Christmas vacation...

To bring this to a conclusion — since, after all, most people stopped reading several paragraphs back — give some thought to how your kids will be spending their time off during the holidays.

Chances are, a lot of it will involve a screen unless you intervene. It’s worth noting that the American Academy of Pediatrics recommends zero hours of TV watching per day for kids two years old and under. The first two years of life are crucial to brain development, and electronic babysitters can interfere with learning, exploring, thinking skills, developing imagination, social skills, and other vital abilities that will be needed — or sorely missed — throughout life.

What’s more, there’s a proven scientific correlation between TV and weight. In short, more TV watching translates to more pounds.

So, mom, dad, use your imperial authority as parents, your well-honed communication skills, and your keen imaginations to create a daily activity list combining chores and play that will keep your precious bundles of joy active while on vacation. It will pay dividends for years to come. +

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+ 10

DECEMBER 21, 2012

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Life. Less complicated.

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Serving the Medical, Dental and Education Communities since 1976 Visit us at any of our 5 locations or at www.hccu.coop 706-434-1600

Sparkle

athy’s family started Thanksgiving dinner a little later this year. Unfortunately, she had November 22nd marked on her calendar for the blood transfusion she requires each week. You never heard her complain, though. As she sat in her chair for nearly 4 hours — uncomfortable from not moving around freely, cold from the room-temperature blood product — this mother of three was just glad she was able to receive the treatment she needs to prolong her life. It’s what allowed her to go home and spend Thanksgiving with her children and husband. It’s what will allow her to spend Christmas the same way.

Across town, David and Sarah were just lucky to have their whole family there with them. As three generations of their family locked hands and prayed before dinner, their offering of thanks revolved around their youngest child, Blake, who’s still alive. There was a time that it seemed unlikely. Their little 6 yearold’s leukemia prognosis was steadily getting worse and worse. He might not have made it this long had he not received a bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor across country. Now, they’ll have the opportunity to watch him laugh and smile and play on another Christmas morning.

And now the story turns from these unknown strangers to you. You’ve probably heard what I’m about to tell you before. But the fact remains that each and every one of us can

Wash PRESSURE PROFESSIONALS

save lives at least 5 to 6 times each year. No, you don’t have to be a doctor. All you have to do is be willing to donate a little bit of your time and a little bit of you.

I’m talking about becoming a blood donor. Like you, I had seen the signs for blood drives for years and ignored them.

“Lots of people give blood,” I thought. “They don’t need mine.” Maybe you’ve thought the same. Well, this perception was shattered for me recently when a faculty member explained to me that our hospital has to purchase 95% of the blood it provides. Other hospitals in the area do not fare any better. Yet there are more than enough healthy donors to make this a non-issue.

The truth is, a single donation of blood can save three lives.

No, that’s not some loose stretch of a statistic made to entice you. It is a fact — and it will only take one hour of your time. And it benefits very needy people. Trauma patients, cancer patients, and cardiothoracic patients get the largest portions of blood. And they need a lot of it. A single car accident victim or transplant patient can receive anywhere between 30-50 units of blood. Stop for a moment and read over those patient categories again for me. I have a feeling you know someone on one or more of those lists.

Imagine losing them, not because their injuries were too severe or due to a medical error.

Imagine losing them because we all decided to let “someone else” donate the blood so critical to life.

It’s a fairly simple process.

Donors can go right to the hospital to give blood. At the GHS Medical Center, blood can be given on the first floor of the hospital from 8 a.m.

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+

Ross Everett is a 2nd year medical student at the Medical College of Georgia. He grew up in Buford, Georgia and graduated from the University of Georgia in 2011.

In addition to his coursework, he is very interested in health policy, health systems and health management. Please contact him at wideeyedwhitecoat@gmail.com

lion people can’t be wro ng.

Advertise here

s of companies who already support us ! the ten Join

K

to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. Parking is available.

Check out their website for more details (http://www. mcghealth.org/blooddonation/GhsuContentPage. aspx?nd=3190). Blood drives are frequently being put on all around campus. Their times and locations can be found using the same site.

Some people are terrified of needles. While I get it, I urge you to weigh that fear against saving another human being’s life. If you’re still afraid, this next opportunity is for you.

Joining the bone marrow registry is as easy as brushing your teeth. That’s right. When you apply to join, the national registry will mail to you a few swabs to rub in your mouth. All you have to do is sacrifice a little spit and drop the postage-free envelope back in the mail with your sample.

Yet these simple steps allow you to be identified as a match for numerous patients, many of which are children with leukemia. Their website offers much more information as well (http://marrow.org/Join/Join_ the_Registry.aspx).

The individuals I have mentioned above are not real people. Yet they represent so many real people! It’s the season of thanks and the season of giving. This year, be thankful for your health. And if you can spare any time this holiday season — which I suspect you can — share some of your health with those who aren’t as lucky. It’s difficult to donate money when times are so hard for so many. Not everyone can donate hours and hours doing charitable work either. All I’m asking is that you give one hour or to simply pick up the mail.

You’ll have never felt better.

Please, this year, give the gift of life. +

+

DECEMBER 21, 2012

11 +

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

The blog spot — Posted in Dec. 10, 2012 at drgrumpyinthehouse.blogspot.com

FIVE DOLLARS Recently there was a news story about Dr. Russell Dohner of Illinois. He charges all patients a flat $5 per visit. He doesn’t take insurance. This led to several online threads featuring comments such as “Finally! A doctor who cares!”

Apparently, this means that doctors like me who charge more than five bucks are evil and don’t care.

I respect Dr. Dohner and what he does. I actually like what I do, and if I were independently wealthy and could see patients for free, I probably would.

It wasn’t until almost the end that the article noted Dr. Dohner is supported by his family’s farming business, NOT his medical practice. By that time most readers had moved on to football scores and therefore were left with the impression that any doctor can do this for $5 a head.

Bull.

I care.

But that doesn’t mean I don’t have my own responsibilities: like office rent and a mortgage. Paying staff. A wife. 3 kids. If I can’t support those things, then I’m not going to be able to keep my office open to care for people.

Regardless of what people may think, just because I charge for my services doesn’t mean I don’t care.

I care enough to call in your seizure medication to a pharmacy at 2:00 a.m. because you’re out of pills, even though you knew you needed a refill for at least a week.

I care enough to call you from my family vacation to go over your MRI results because I didn’t think they should wait until I got home, or that you should get bad news from a covering doctor who doesn’t know you.

I care enough to come in early and see you at 7:00 a.m. because you can’t get time off work, but really do need to be seen.

I care enough to spend time arguing with some pinhead at your insurance company about why you need an MRI when they don’t think you do.

I care enough to rush in to the hospital to see you on my weekend off, rather than let a hospitalist who doesn’t know you from Adam try to figure this out.

I care enough to call a drug rep and beg for samples of your medication because you lost your job and can’t afford it.

I care enough not to order unnecessary EMGs and EEGs on you, even though doing them would improve my revenue.

I care enough to face worsening reimbursements and rising expenses every day, when many colleagues have given up and gone into another field.

I care enough to try and give you hope even when I’m not sure there is any.

I care enough to help you find another neurologist who will take good care of you, because your crappy insurance won’t let you see me anymore.

I care enough to step out of my kid’s music recital and take your call, because I know you’re scared.

I care enough to take the time and explain why the drug you saw advertised on TV isn’t a good idea in your case rather than just writing a script to shut you up.

I care enough to stay in a job that has deprived me of sleep, family time, and likely shortened my overall lifespan, in spite of the fact that my financial goal nowadays is just to break even.

I care enough to refer you to a specialist who can take better care of you than I can, even though in doing so I’ll lose you as a patient.

I care enough not to force you to have a test you can’t afford, even though you can sue me for malpractice if I miss something.

I care enough not to dismiss you from my practice despite your insanely annoying personality because I know you really need my help.

I care enough to still be doing this job, even though every day a little bit of my idealism dies.

I care enough to be a doctor. I hope I always will. +

“ I’m a doctor.

I care. ”

— Posted by Grumpy, M.D.

From THE Bookshelf This highly reviewed book —it’s on several Best Books of 2012 lists — is a fascinating look at a new frontier in science and medicine.

As learned a man as Benjamin Franklin said (not all that long ago, really), “There will be sleeping enough in the grave,” In other words, sleep is for the lazy man; the industrious man views sleep as unimportant enough that he’ll worry about rest later.

In the immortal words of the Augusta Medical Examiner, “Believe there will be sleeping enough in the grave and you’ll get all the rest you want — sooner rather than later.”

Yes, sleep is critical to health, which is unfortunate, since one reviewer calls this book “the most diverting and consistently fascinating book on the topic [of sleep] ever.”

That means it will not put you to sleep. Hmmm.

But let’s press on.

Imagine this for starters: most humans spend about a third of their lives asleep. Yet sleep is one of the youngest fields of science and medicine.

Researchers grapple with questions that seem simple,

but often aren’t. Why do we need sleep, anyway?

We’ll let Augusta physician Bashir Chaudhary, M.D. answer that one; we interviewed him for an article on these very pages a few years ago. His answer: “because we are tired.”

Beyond that, why do we snore and what is the cure?

Why do we dream and what do dreams mean? What is the brain doing during all this down time? What’s wrong with trading an hour or two of sleep for some extra productivity every day? Why can we be dead tired and yet

have trouble falling asleep?

This book answers these questions and many more.

What’s the big deal about sleep apnea? What happens when a baby enters the picture — and sleeps in the same bed with mom and dad? Do men and women sleep differently? Why might romantic couples consider sleeping in separate beds?

Speaking of beds, let’s talk about the importance —or lack thereof — associated with mattresses. How about sleepwalking? People have driven a car, cooked food, written letters and even — or so a lawyer claimed — committed murder while sleeping. How convenient.

But then, a jury agreed and acquitted the man of killing his mother-in-law.

After reading this book, you will emerge with a profound new respect for sleep and its importance, and will no doubt agree with Randall’s assertion that sleep is at least one-third of the recipe for living well. + Dreamland by David K. Randall, 336 pages, published August 13, 2012 by Norton

the

Clipping File Got heart disease?

Most people who do — and we’re talking millions upon millions of people in the US alone — assume that the medications their doctor has given them will prevent another heart attack or stroke.

Their assumptions seem wellfounded: if they’re taking meds which lower their blood pressure and cholesterol, they should be in good shape.

A study released earlier this month, however, says that is a mistaken assumption.

The findings, published in the American Heart Association’s medical journal Circulation, included 32,000 people age 55 and above with a history of heart disease or stroke in 40 countries, studying them over a five-year period.

The study found that people with the healthiest diets were 35 percent less likely to die (during the 5-year study) from a repeat heart attack and 14 percent less likely to even have a second heart attack compared to those

with the least healthy diets.

What’s more, they were also 28 percent less likely to develop congestive heart failure and 19 percent less likely to have a stroke.

Those judged to be in the healthiest diet category were those with the highest intakes of fruit, vegetables, whole grains, nuts, and fish.

The American Heart Association recommends a heart-healthy diet as one with at least 4 cups of fruits and vegetables daily, at least three daily servings of whole grains, two servings of fish per week along with four servings of nuts or seeds, in addition to limiting intake of sodium, sugar-sweetened beverages, and processed meat.

It’s the thought that counts-not A handful of studies and surveys have recently revealed some interesting facts about gift giving.

Almost 80 percent of those surveyed say regifting is

acceptable. A heartfelt gift makes the giver feel closer to the recipient, not the other way around. And it’s not the thought that counts; it’s the gift itself.

That tickle in your throat?

It may not be in your throat after all.

The International Journal of Clinical Practice reports on a small study which found that taking daily iron supplements dramatically improved chronic dry, tickly cough in otherwise healthy nonsmoking women with low iron levels.

The iron supplements were more successful in alleviating the coughing than targeting symptoms directly (such as by administering antihistamines or cough syrup).

Researchers say iron deficiency may affect areas of the brain involved in the neurological control of coughing.

During the study, subjects were given two 330mg iron sulphate tablets daily. +

+ 12

DECEMBER 21, 2012

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE EXAMiNERS +

by Dan Pearson

Actually I did this Did you find your When are you going afternoon.

And guess glasses yet? No, and I can’t see to the eye doctor? who I ran into? a thing without them.

Pretty much everybody.

Who?

The Mystery Word for this issue: AMSINAE

© 2012 Daniel Pearson All rights reserved.

EXAMINER CROSSWORD

PUZZLE

All Mystery Word finders will be eligible to win by random drawing.

We’ll announce the winner in our next issue!

2

3

4

5

14

15

17

18

6

7

8

9

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11

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13

16 19

Click on “Reader Contests”

QUOTATION PUZZLE N S T H H H W U L H O A S W E Y O E G E V O I E N O I L H T H H U W N O G N A U G A A K L W S E — Lao Tzu

DIRECTIONS: Recreate a timeless nugget of wisdom by using the letters in each vertical column to fill the boxes above. Once any letter is used, cross it out in the lower half of the puzzle. Letters may be used only once. Black squares indicate spaces between words, and words may extend onto a second line.

Solution on page 14.

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2012 All rights reserved

2

E

X A M I N E R

5

9 1 3 8

S

9 8 4 1 7 3 8 1 5

7 6 3 9 8

5 6 4 7 6

9 3

2

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2012 All rights reserved. Built with software from www.crauswords.com

U D O K U

DIRECTIONS: Every line, vertical and horizontal, and all nine 9-square boxes must each contain the numbers 1 though 9. Solution on page 14.

Use the letters provided at bottom to create words to solve the puzzle. All the listed letters following 1 are the 1st letters of each word; the letters following 2 are 2nd letters of each word, and so on. Try solving words with letter clues and entering unique and minimal choice numbers (such as 5 thru 8 in this puzzle). A sample is shown. Solution on page 14.

1 2 3 4 5 1 2 3 4 5

1

O 2 3

4

1 2 3 4

5

1 2 3

6 1

Y 2

3

I 1 2

S 1 2

T 1 2 3

1 2 3

1

2

P 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 3

I 4

5

— Bill Cosby

6

1.IOCIEEEESSNN 2.LLOOVVYYSSEP 3.OTTEEEEEEE 4.SIRREN 5.PYYEN 6.IDG 7.N 8.G

SAMPLE:

1. ILB 2. SLO 3. VI 4. NE 5. D =

L 1

O 2

V 3

E 4

I 1

S 2

B 1

L 2

I 3

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D 5

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2012 All rights reserved

BY

Simply unscramble the letters, then begin exploring our ads. When you find the correctly spelled word hidden in one of our ads — enter at AugustaRx.com

VISIT WWW.AUGUSTARX.COM TO ENTER! 1

20 21 22 ACROSS 1. Lance lead 23 24 25 5. Mournful poem 26 27 28 29 30 10. Converse 14. Wander 31 32 33 34 35 15. Blended 36 37 38 16. Timber wolf 17. Money of W. Samoa 39 40 41 18. Particularly 42 43 44 20. NYC comedy program 21. Capital of Norway 45 46 22. Forest 47 48 49 50 51 52 53 23. Golfer Els 25. Tree of the genus Quercus 54 55 56 57 26. Decay of teeth 58 59 60 28. Former resident of 6th St. 31. Not quite right 61 62 63 32. Squamous; dry and flaking

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2012 All rights reserved. Built in part with software from www.crauswords.com 34. Run around Solution p. 14 36. Lustrous fur 28. NBC station DOWN 37. Rib cage residents 29. Famous James 1. Frequent sciences 38. Otherwise 30. Twangy companion 39. Org. for 23-A 32. Lather 2. Lamentation 40. Billy Joel’s We ____ Start 33. Atlanta news pioneer 3. Augusta Ballet stars the Fire 35. Augusta’s #1 name?

4.

Kill Bill star, to friends 41. Anomaly; aberration 37. Former money of 19-D 5. Vomit 42. Hollywood awards 38. Energy units 6. Cotton thread used for 44. Local power source 40. Former president, at least in hosiery 45. Eggs these parts 7. Public exhibition 46. Subdue 41. Aiken birth?

8. Command to a horse 47. Hindu religious teacher 43. Attractive 9. Our juvie jail, in short 50. Interlude 44. Roman god of fire 10. Nearby Hill 51. Non-Rx 46. Capital of Ecuador 11. Jackson ending 54. Like a rifle sight 47. AIDS and HIV, for example 12. Very common suffix 57. Endure (Scottish) 48. Cry 13. Playthings 58. Breaker intro 49. Having wings 19. Home of Mont Blanc 59. Type of ray 50. Some nurses 21. Singles 60. Apple product 52. Drop starter 24. Something done to one’s 61. Agile 53. Ghana monetary unit neck?

62. Heated crime?

55. Lady A award giver 25. Lubricates 63. Cardium prefix 56. Source of Regatta power 26. Gordon, built in 1941 57. ASU Coach Metress 27. Pablo’s friend

WORDS NUMBER

THE MYSTERY WORD

DECEMBER 21, 2012

THE BEST MEDICINE ha... ha...

D

id you hear about the Chihuahua that killed a Rottweiler?

The Rottweiler choked to death on the Chihuahua.

Vacationing in Hawaii, two priests decide to wear casual clothes so they won’t be identified as clergy. They buy Hawaiian shirts and sandals, and soon head for the beach.

A gorgeous blond in a tiny bikini comes walking down the beach toward them.

“Good afternoon, Fathers,” she says as she strolls by.

The men are stunned. How can she tell they’re priests? Later that day, they buy what they think is even wilder attire: surfer shorts, tie dyed T-shirts, and dark glasses.

The next day, they return to the beach. The

same fabulous blond, now wearing an almost invisible string bikini, passes by, nods politely at them and says, “Hello, Fathers.”

“Just a minute young lady,” says one of the priests. “We are priests and proud of it, but how in the world did you know we’re priests?”

The blonde replies, “Don’t you recognize me? I’m Sister Mary Catherine from the convent.”

A man left work one Friday afternoon.

Being payday, instead of going home he stayed out the entire weekend drinking with his buddies. He spent his entire paycheck.

When he finally came home Sunday night, he was confronted by his very angry wife who gave him a tirade befitting his actions.

Finally, his wife stopped her verbal assault and turned the tables on him, “How would you like it if you didn’t see me for two or three days?”

To which he defiantly replied, “That would be just fine with me.”

Monday went by and he didn’t see his wife. Tuesday and Wednesday came and went with the same results.

By Thursday, the swelling went down just enough that he could see her a little out of the corner of his left eye. +

A holiday boost for family caregivers

by Kathy Crist Owner, Right at Home of the CSRA

T

he holidays are particularly challenging for family caregivers because they often feel torn between being there fully for their loved one and wanting to be free to enjoy festivities with family and friends.

Fortunately, there are workable solutions so caregivers can Crist do both and avoid extra stress and negative feelings that tend to surface during the holidays. When our staff assists a family with adult home care, we see firsthand how important it is for family caregivers not to feel alone or forgotten while the rest of the community celebrates the season.

Right at Home suggests ways family caregivers can lighten their load from now through New Year’s: Adjust expectations. Unmet expectations during the hustle and bustle of the holidays often trigger more anger and discouragement. Instead of setting the bar high for caregiving and decorating the house, buying gifts, sending cards, baking goodies, etc., lower the demand factor.

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Acknowledge feelings.

Family caregivers deal with a range of emotions from frustration with lack of help to fear over an unpredictable future. It is sad that the loved one can’t live alone anymore or engage socially like in previous holidays, so caregivers need to set aside time to listen to and work through those more difficult feelings.

Allow for “good enough.”

If the tree lights are uneven this year, tell yourself that it’s good enough. If you only have time to bake one round of cookies, it’s good enough. If you need to send your holiday cards after January 1, it’s good enough. For family caregivers already stretched thin, perfect isn’t always the wise choice.

Be free from the “shoulds.”

Free yourself from the mindset that there’s a right way to spend the holidays.

Consciously toss aside these statements: “I should feel chipper. I should have people over. I should carry on our usual holiday plans.”

Extend compassion to yourself. Compassion and gentleness are gifts family caregivers can give back to themselves. Taking time for regular exercise and leisure activities allows for healthy self-care. For their own holiday wish lists, caregivers might enjoy special treats

including nail treatments, massages and restaurant gift cards.

Practice letting go.

Family caregivers can waste emotional energy wishing circumstances were different for their loved one. A key to enjoying the holidays is to cease fighting what is beyond one’s control. Determine to end the year letting go of disgruntled attitudes, relationship squabbles and past mistakes that can interfere with the best care for an aging or ill relative.

Plan ahead and ask for help. Simplify priorities. Ask other family members to take shifts and rely on professional caregivers like Right at Home to step in with a variety of services from respite care and transportation to light housekeeping and meal preparation.

No one was designed to run ragged by doing it all during the holidays, especially family caregivers who choose to narrow their focus on the priceless gifts of extending love and self-sacrifice to another. + Right at Home of the CSRA, a leading provider of in-home care and assistance, supports America’s family caregivers and is dedicated to improving the life of the elderly and disabled. To contact Right at Home call 803-278-0250 or visit them on the web at www.csra.rightathome.net

The Patient’s Perspective

by Marcia Ribble

L

ast summer NBC news ran a segment about Dr. Rachel Naomi Remen, one of the earliest pioneers in the mind/body holistic links that improve patient outcomes when maximized. Dr. Remen is Clinical Professor of Family and Community Medicine at University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.

The segment, for those of you who may have missed it, focused on her work with her medical students, in particular with helping them to learn to listen to their patients, which is what I write about in this series.

In her course, “The Healer’s Art,” Dr. Remen teaches her students that healing is a very complex blend of the physical and the spiritual, including the mind-body connection made famous by Bill Moyers. But not all medical schools are teaching this to their students, so we can occasionally run into doctors who care about their patient’s illnesses, but ignore all the other kinds of connected issues like costs, family help in recovery, patients’ negative feelings about parts of their bodies, and other connected and complicated issues. Listening to their patients and discovering the kind of information only the patient can provide could lead to more effective treatments, better compliance, and more satisfied patients, and most importantly, faster more successful healing, even to the point of saving the lives of some who technically should not have survived based solely on medical practices and skills.

“Loving, caressing and mothering of babies is absolutely necessary for their survival,” writes Shirley King in Parent News. “In 1915, Dr. Henry Dwight Chapin reported that in foundling homes throughout the U.S. where babies were given adequate nourishment and cleanliness, nearly every infant under two years died.

The mortality rate was almost 100 percent. He discovered the policy at the time was ‘no coddling.’ The babies died from lack of touch. Human babies definitely need tender loving care to survive.”

We are finding the same is true for people of all ages. All people need tender loving care, not just babies. We all need care that attends to us as whole people, not just isolated bodies upon whom medical procedures

Talk is cheap.

Not talking can be deadly.

are done. More recent studies have found this to be true in geriatric care, in obstetrics, and in oncology. Dr. Remen is teaching her medical students to be constantly aware of their patients as holistic beings.

Dr. Mahmoud Fathalla, in a 2000 review of a 1952 New England Journal of Medicine paper for the World Health Organization, noted that in about 400 BC Hippocrates explained the contextual nature of illness, instructing physicians to take note of all of a patient’s contexts, not just the physical and spiritual ones, but also all the environmental, socioeconomic factors, and political factors.

It will help our doctors to give us better care if we too, learn to think of ourselves in that broader sense. For example, it could make a big difference if a patient reports worsening asthma conditions alone, or if the patient reported that and the fact that they live with a smoker, pets, and in a hme with mold problems. A temporary fix of the asthma won’t be of much help if the patient goes straight back into the same aggravating environment.

Patients also need to talk to their physicians about reluctance to undergo necessary but embarrassing or uncomfortable procedures like PAP tests, rectal exams including colonoscopies and prostate exams, and mammograms, all of which can be lifesaving. Doctors can’t deal with what they don’t know about, no matter how brilliant they might be technically, and it’s up to us to communicate with them. + Marcia Ribble received her PhD in English at Michigan State and recently retired from the University of Cincinnati where she taught composition. She taught writing at the college level and loves giving voice to people who have been silenced. She can be reached with comments, suggestions, etc., at marciaribble@hotmail.com.

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DECEMBER 21, 2012

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE MYSTERY SOLVED The Mystery Word in our last issue was: EMBRYO

...carefully hidden (on the ornament) in the page 1 ad for SCRUBS OF EVANS Congratulations to Nancy Moon, who scores a $20 Wild Wing Cafe gift certificate, two free movie passes courtesy of Health Center Credit Union, a free Top Notch Car Wash gift card, and for coffee drinkers, a jar of Drug of Choice gourmet coffee. Win this stuff!

The new Mystery Word is on p. 12. Start looking!

The Celebrated MYSTERY WORD CONTEST ...wherein we hide (with fiendish cleverness) a simple word. All you have to do is unscramble the word (found on page 12), then be the first to find it concealed within one of our ads. Click in to the contest link at www.AugustaRx.com and enter. If we pick you in our random drawing of correct entries you’ll score our goodie package: gift certificates from Wild Wing Cafe, Top Notch Car Wash, and movie passes from Health Center Credit Union!

SEVEN SIMPLE RULES: 1. Unscramble and find the designated word hidden within one of the ads in this issue. 2. Visit the Reader Contests page at www.AugustaRx.com. 3. Tell us what you found and where you found it. 4. If you’re right and you’re the one we pick at random, you win. (WInners within the past six months are ineligible.) 5. Prizes awarded to winners may vary from issue to issue. 6. A photo ID may be required to claim some prizes. 7. Other entrants may win a lesser prize at the sole discretion of the publisher.

The new scrambled Mystery Word is found on page 12

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Ready today. $125K - OBO. 803-5078991.

TOWNHOME large furnished room (dresser, bed, night stand, linens) for rent with private bathroom in convenient and very nice neighborhood near Doctors Hosp. $445 a month includes utilities and Internet service. Please contact 706589-0238 ask for May.

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WEST AUGUSTA Luxury 3 BR / 2 BA Townhouse, 1-car attached garage located off Pleasant Home Road $725 /mo 706-228-4655

CAREGIVER Let me help you with your loved one. 24 hour care, very reasonable. Call 706-738-0851 CNA IN-HOME CARE I assist with daily activities, prepare meals, light housekeeping, grocery shopping, doctor’s appts. I will meet you to discuss your

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SPARKLING CLEAN Looking for offices to clean. No contract req. Husband & wife team have years experience and give FREE on-request estimates. Call 706.831.8552 or 706.831.8553 NOTICE! ATTENTION! If any current or past employer has failed to pay you min. wage or time and a half overtime pay, you may be entitled to an order from US Federal Court awarding you twice the amount of your unpaid wages plus atty. fees. For info, call Arthur H. Shealy, Attorney at Law, 803-278-5149, 1010 Plantation Rd, North Augusta SC 29841. You may be entitled to a similar award for unpaid wages if your employer required you to perform duties during your lunch hour, before clocking in, or after clocking out.

TOWNHOME Great location, everything new, 2 master suites, sunroom, all appliances. $98,000 (706) 504-4023

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Exceptional Living

WHAT What’s going on?

NEED? Editor’s note: Exceptional Living appears exclusively in the Medical Examiner each month, addressing issues that all of us can benefit from involving people with special — let’s call them exceptional — needs.

DO

YOU

Wherever your shopping excursions take you in the weeks to come, we

hope you’ll show your thanks to our advertisers by giving them a share of your business. We could not publish this paper without them!

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I

’ve been calling myself a scrooge these last few weeks because I’ve decorated absolutely NOTHING in or outside of my house and I don’t want to do any shopping. In reality, I’m not a scrooge. I’m just disappointed and frustrated that Christmas is no longer about celebrating the birth of Jesus Christ, yet more so about getting the best deal at any cost. I reminisce of my childhood (that of my nieces and nephew too) and it was wonderful to see a tree full of presents under it. It was great to get toys that I asked for; playing all day trying to make sure I used everything I got.

But what I remember most is spending time with my family and understanding the ultimate gift, the gift of life, which Christ represented.

Christmas has become so commercialized I’m convinced that many have lost sight of the true meaning for this holiday. Christmas decorations start going up with Halloween items and are in full force before we can begin to think about Thanksgiving. And only for pure greed and selfishness requiring individuals to be away from their families just so others can shop on Thanksgiving Day. I was disgusted as I watched the news reports from Black Friday as they showed grown men and women pushing, shoving and fighting each other over such trivial, materialistic things. Is this really the example that we want to set for our children, stampeding stores like wild animals?

Hurting and trampling others in fear that they

will get to what we want first? How can our children take us seriously when we teach them about sharing and treating others the way we want to be treated when our actions, behaving like a wild boar, is what they see?

Christmas day is right around the corner and while many families gather together breaking bread, filling the house with boisterous laughter and creating wonderful new memories, other families are mourning the loss of their loved ones, trying to make sense of why they are no longer here. The horrendous tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, is the freshest reminder of families who will experience a remarkably somber holiday, as well as those affected by the December 11 Oregon mall shooting, the July 20 Aurora, Colorado movie theatre shooting, and many others who’ve lost loved ones this year regardless a shooting, car accident, fire or natural causes.

When is the last time you told those near and dear to you that you love them? How long has it been since you took time to call them, go see them or just give a sincere heartfelt hug? In light of the recent events it’s imperative that we make time to share and express how we feelwith those who are important to us. + Naomi Williams is a health educator by training, an entrepreneur by nature, mom, and advocate of the best kid ever, Noah Samuel.

E- OLD DEBA G A TE E H +T

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Healthcare providers are among the best-paid, best-educated members of our community, filling stable, recession-resistant jobs.

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They represent roughly 25% of our readership.

Healthcare consumers are every one of us. Accessing healthcare takes time, which is what Waiting Rooms are for. Which is where thousands of Medical Examiners are distributed. And read. And taken home.

Healthcare consumers represent roughly 75% of our readership.

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DECEMBER 21, 2012

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

FISCAL HEALTH

The Money Doctor

Focusing on what we can control

A

s we gather for the holidays, the nightly news will be focused on the “fiscal cliff.” The news will make it sound like the sun will not come up on January 1st if a deal is not struck by December 31st.

While it obviously would make sense for our politicians to work out a deal sooner rather than later, they can always make any agreed upon changes in 2013, retroactive to January 1st.

This is what they did in 2010 when they passed estate tax legislation in December 2010 and made some of the provisions retroactive to January 1, 2010.

So bottom line, if you hear the nightly fear mongers talking about the fiscal cliff, just turn the channel and I promise you will have a more enjoyable holiday.

This is not to minimize the big debt problem we have in this country. It seems both sides of the aisle understand that too many promises have been made with not enough resources to pay them. Raising taxes is one proposal, but in the big picture, will not come anywhere close to balancing our budget. No one knows at this point how

Every Thursday evening:

Wine & Tapas

this will play out and how the country will move back towards a balanced budget. You are starting to hear rumblings about some of the ideas – increasing the social security retirement age for younger workers, freezing some federal employee salaries, more than likely higher taxes in the future, and possible means testing for high income earners on programs like Medicare.

Rather than worry about all the uncertainties, I would encourage you to make a list of things you can control and things you cannot. The key question for each of us is to focus on what we can control so that we put ourselves in the best possible position to weather future storms of events and personal circumstances that we can’t control.

Here are a couple of points to consider: 1. Educate Yourself Understand the environment we are in. With the Federal Reserve coming out this week saying they will keep rates low until the unemployment rate gets to 6.5%, understand what this means for your financial situation. We discussed several articles ago the importance of good cash management, and this will continue to be very

important over the next decade.

We all need cash reserves, but also knowing that cash will have negative real returns for the foreseeable future is important to understand.

What do I mean by “real rate of return”? If I asked you would you prefer returns of 6.6% or 5.2%, which one would you select? The correct answer is: it depends on inflation during that time (how much are my costs going up). Data from Ibbotson’s shows that for a portfolio of 50% bonds and 50% U.S. stocks, 5.2% would actually be the better choice. That, in fact, was the average return from 2002 to 2011 while inflation averaged 2.4%. The 6.6% average return occurred from 1972 to 1981, but inflation averaged 8.9%, for a negative average real return of 2.3%.

Getting your arms around this concept and having a better understanding of how this fits

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by Bill Cleveland, CPA and certified financial planner (CFP) with Preston & Cleveland Wealth Management, LLC (www.prestoncleveland.com) in Augusta and Atlanta. Medical Economics magazine has called him one of the 150 Best Financial Advisors for Doctors in the nation.

into your financial picture is an important component of your long term financial success going forward. Good financial management is not easy. It takes thought, preparation, and an understanding of the myriad of risks we face in saving for future goals.

2. Decrease Debt - Make a list of all of your debt. Organize it from the highest interest rate to the lowest interest rate.

Understand that getting out of debt requires you to give up something today in order to get something tomorrow.

Believe it or not, even for those that refinanced their home a year ago, it might make sense to refinance your mortgage again. One of the goals we have for clients is to be debt-free in retirement. One way to do this is moving a 30-year mortgage to a 15- or 20-year mortgage.

With rates down, you may be surprised how little this changes your overall payment if you have not refinanced in the last several years.

3. Spending - Spend less than you make. Most rules of thumb say you should save 10% to 20% of your salary. It varies depending on your age and other factors, but begin by accumulating a cash reserve fund at your local bank. If your employer matches your contributions to your 401k at work, make sure you are contributing enough to get the full match. You are basically giving away “free money” by not receiving this match.

Budgeting is hard, but should reflect what you value and what is important to you.

4. Giving - Rather than spend money, think of ways to give your time. Be creative. If we all think back over our lives, many of our most memorable gifts were not toys or presents, but time that a family member, friend, or neighbor spent with us.

5. Good Health – One of the biggest challenges in planning is the unknown of how long you will live. One of my friends, Rick Miller, gave a presentation recently at the NAPFA conference discussing some of the issues around planning for longevity. Life expectancy is often a misunderstood term.

Simply put, it is an estimate of median life span. In other words, an individual’s life expectancy is the median age at which 50% are expected to die before that age and 50% after. Obviously, that can vary from person to person for many reasons. So planning solely based on your life expectancy may not be the best idea: if you end up in the 50% that lives longer you could outlive your resources. An interesting note from Rick’s presentation was the U.S. is not the leader in longevity by any means.

That distinction belongs to Monaco, with a life expectancy of 89.7 years. The U.S. ranked 50th at 78.4 years, with the lowest Afghanistan at 45 years.

Significant increases in U.S. life expectancy are possible and probable. And while I have seen it before, it is always striking to see the life expectancy numbers for non-smokers vs. smokers.

The chart above shows that for a 65 year old, the average life expectancy is 20 years for a male, but smoking costs a male an average of 7 years. (Note also that obesity has been shown to have a negative impact similar to smoking.) For some good suggestions on starting the new year, consider completing the analysis at www.livingto100. com.

Managing your money is about making good choices, developing good habits, and having the discipline and resilience to stick to them. This article was not meant to be discouraging, but hopefully as encouragement to take one of the points noted and make a commitment to improving on that point during the year. +