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AUGUSTA

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FREE T AKE-H OME C OPY!

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AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006

BE FRUITFUL

JUNE 20, 2014

There’s nothing better than fresh fruit, and we’re entering peak season for all the delicious natural bounty our beautiful earth gives us. The Medical Examiner asked the members of the Augusta District Dietetic Association — they’re registered dietitians — for their favorite nuggets of fruit info. Here are a few of their tasteful thoughts: To prolong the life of ripe strawberries, rinse them in a mixture of 1 part vinegar to 10 parts water and then drain and store in the refrigerator.

Kathy Belinski, RD, LD If you picked too many blueberries, make your own syrup for pancakes or to put over angel food or pound cake 2 cups of fresh blueberries 1/4 cup orange juice 1/4 cup water 1 Tablespoon cornstarch 2 Tablespoons sugar 1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg 1/4 teaspoon grated orange peel Combine all ingredients in a saucepan and cook and stir over medium heat for 5 minutes or until slightly thickened.

To freeze blueberries for later use,, place dry berries on a cookie sheet in a single layer and freeze. Once frozen, transfer the berries to a plastic bag or freezer container.

This way you can take out as many or few as desired for future use and they won’t be all frozen in one clump Jeanne B. Lee, MS, RD, LD Augusta Area Dietetic Internship University Hospital Quick fruit snack ideas: 1) Banana with peanut butter.

Bananas and apples are another delicious combination.

2) Yogurt with berries and some granola or flax seed on top 3) Sliced banana with nuts 4) Dates stuffed with almonds 5) Low-fat crackers, cheese and wedges of fresh plums 6) a mix of dry plums, apricots and nuts Pamela Brisky RD LD Clinical Dietitian Georgia Regents University “Fruit is nature’s candy. The best energy bar grows on trees; pick a fruit for hours of energy instead of the supplements aisle.”

Andy Yurechko, MS, RD, LD Dietitian Georgia Regents Medical Center & Children’s Hospital of Georgia • If you want to get a child to eat and apple, try cutting it up in slices and dipping it in dry jello. It is not only appealing to look at, but delicious to eat!

• You don’t have to peel a kiwi to eat it. Try eating with the peel on.

Your body will love the extra fiber.

Donna S. Martin, EdS, RDN, LD, SNS Director School Nutrition Program Burke County Board of Education Strawberries are the only fruit which grows seeds on the outside.

Bananas will turn black in the refrigerator. There are over 1 ,000 different kinds of apples.

Amy Culberson, MS, RD, LD + Dietitian/Private Consultant +

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JUNE 20, 2014

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

University leads the way in patient care quality in the CSRA.

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MEDICAL EXAMINER

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IS ONLINE • www.AugustaRx.com/news • Scroll past daily updates and entries to issue dates

• www.issuu.com/medicalexaminer • All Medical Examiners, all the time. View the archive through 2012.

Of course you do. It’s summertime. More than half a million people live in the greater Augusta area. Mosquitoes aren’t idiots.

We’re food, so they’re here.

The question is, how can we keep them at bay?

According to Columbia County’s website and its CCIMMPT (the Columbia County Integrated Mosquito Management Program Team — but then, you knew that already) page, abandoned and neglected swimming pools account for the majority of the mosquito complaints to which the CCIMMPT responded.

Many cities and counties have mosquito abatement programs and initiatives, but without the assistance of people like you and me, it can be one step forward, two steps back.

“We need each citizen to help reduce mosquitoes by taking personal protective measures to prevent your exposure to mosquitoes and — most importantly — eliminating all breeding sources of standing water around their homes. Remember, anything that will hold water for more than a few days can produce mosquitoes” by offering them a convenient place to hatch larva.

“Check your home [and property] for the following common mosquito breeding problem areas: swimming pools, bird baths, {clogged or slow-flowing] gutters and downspouts, decorative ponds, containers {like pails, buckets, wheelbarrows, etc.] tarps, leaky outdoor spigots, low spots in the yard [where water collects], old tires [and] tree holes.” + — Source: columbiacountyga.gov

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JUNE 20, 2014

tudent loans and the impending student debt bubble burst will be in the news for the next couple of weeks. After all, President Obama recently signed an executive order that caps current payments on student debt at 10 percent of one’s monthly income, and forgives any outstanding balance after twenty years. Over the coming months, proposals to restructure the federal student loan program will be debated in Congress. For most, this debate conjures images of young graduates, fresh off their futons, trying to work their way up in their new companies. In today’s tough job market, many are even forced to start in unpaid positions, hoping just to claim an internship somewhere.

However, if further change is not instituted, this very common problem is also going to greatly impact our healthcare system as well.

The president’s order and the proposed reform arise at a particularly interesting time for me. As I mentioned in a previous article, I will be taking a year of leave from medical school at the end of this month and pursuing a Master’s in Public Health.

As the date approaches, the tuition emails have started coming. Since it’s so painfully on my mind I am inspired to write about this issue from nothing other than my own perspective.

Contrary to my usual style, I’ll try not to list off too many figures this time. However, it’s necessary to establish a

few things. I take great pride in attending the state of Georgia’s only public medical institution. One benefit of that, of course, is lower tuition than my counterparts at local private schools such as Emory or Mercer have to face. Even so, tuition here has passed the $31,000 threshold this academic year. While that’s still better than our neighbors, it is vexing to consider that when I graduated high school — just four years prior to matriculating to medical school — the Medical College of Georgia’s tuition was just over $12,000. Furthermore, as Dr. Pauline Chen wondered in a 2011 New York Times article on the subject, it is not quite clear where these funds are going. No one can quite agree on how much it costs to train a medical student. Dr. Chen speculates that most tuition increases just go into the general funds for the institutions. I happen to agree with her.

Mind you, each increase is multiplied by four. Thus, the first year medical students of 2013-14 face a nearly $80,000 more expensive degree than the class of 2011 did. Can you really tell me that they are getting an education that’s $80,000 more valuable than their recent predecessors? I don’t think so. Additionally, tuition costs are nothing more. For independent students like myself, my entire living expenses come from loans as well. Some of those are required for my medical training. Consider my approaching Step 2 exam,

Ross Everett is a 3rd 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 interested in health policy, health systems and health management. Please contact him at wideeyedwhitecoat@gmail.com and Like him on Facebook at WideEyed White Coat.

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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.)

AUGUSTA

THESE FIGURES ADD UP

the second of three licensing exams we are required to take to obtain our degree. It costs $1,810. Saving a discussion of the absurdity of that cost for another day, our tuition doesn’t cover that fee. The list of little things like that is long. There is also the general increased cost of living to consider.

Little by not-so-little, it all adds up. The average medical student who graduated last year had a debt of $170,000.

This is before adding interest.

For most, it easily exceeds $200,000.

Meanwhile, physician reimbursements and the likelihood of finding residency training continue to decline.

Again, those are topics for another day. If this trend continues, I fear it will push many out of medicine. Anyone good enough at math to get into medical school is likely to be deterred in the years ahead if this trend continues.

Already, the profiles and demographics of our medical classes are changing. Over half of medical students come from families in the top 20% of incomes. Many of these are less likely to pursue practice in underserved areas. If we want to improve on the already-changing landscape of healthcare and continue to recruit some of the “best and brightest,” reforms in both medical education and in student debt are necessary.

And, no, I won’t take any cheese with my wine. I’m trying to live on a budget. +

FREE T AKE-H OME C OPY!

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AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006

JUNE 20, 2014

PRODUCTION NOTES • Some locations that normally receive their Medical Examiner issues on Fridays (the issue date) may receive this issue on Monday, June 23.

• Although our normal production schedule is every 1st and 3rd Friday, our next issue will be published on Friday, July 11 due to the July 4 holiday. The following issue will be dated July 25. August issues will also be published on the 2nd and 4th Fridays. 1st and 3rd Friday issues will resume in September.

• Our previous issue (June 6) was accidentally printed on the wrong newsprint by our printer. We apologize for this quality error.

AUGUSTA

by Ross Everett

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

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MEDICAL EXAMINER

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AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER

www.AugustaRx.com 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.

Submit editorial content to graphicadv@knology.net Direct editorial and advertising inquiries to: Daniel R. Pearson, Publisher & Editor E-mail: Dan@AugustaRx.com Augusta Medical Examiner photography: H + D Photography www.handdphoto.com AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER P.O. Box 397, Augusta, GA 30903-0397

(706) 860-5455 www.AugustaRx.com • E-mail: graphicadv@knology.net Opinions expressed by the writers herein are their own and their respective institutions. Neither the Augusta Medical Examiner, Pearson Graphic 365 Inc., or its agents or employees take any responsibility for the accuracy of submitted information, which is presented for informational purposes only. For specific medical advice, diagnosis and treatment, consult your doctor.

The appearance of advertisements in this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the products or services advertised. © 2014 PEARSON GRAPHIC 365 INC.

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JUNE 20, 2014

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Simple rules to protect your family from sunburn Keep babies younger than 6 months out of direct sunlight.

Find shade under a tree, an umbrella, or the stroller canopy.

• When possible, dress yourself and your children in cool, comfortable clothing that covers the body, such as lightweight cotton pants, long-sleeved shirts, and hats.

• Select clothes made with a tight weave; they protect better than clothes with a looser weave.

If you’re not sure how tight a fabric’s weave is, hold it up to see how much light shines through.

The less light, the better. Or you can look for protective clothing labeled with an Ultraviolet Protection Factor (UPF).

• Wear a hat with an all-around 3-inch brim to shield the face, ears, and back of the neck.

• Whenever possible, limit your sun exposure between the hours of 10:00 am and 4:00 pm when UV rays are strongest.

• Wear sunglasses with at least 99% UV protection. Look for child-sized sunglasses with UV protection for your child.

• Use sunscreen.

• Make sure everyone in your family knows how to protect his

or her skin and eyes. Remember to set a good example by practicing sun safety yourself.

Sunscreen Sunscreen can help protect the skin from sunburn and some skin cancers but only if used correctly. Keep in mind that sunscreen should be used for sun protection, not as a reason to stay in the sun longer.

How to Pick Sunscreen • Use a sunscreen that says “broad-spectrum” on the label; that means it will screen out both UVB and UVA rays.

• Use a broad-spectrum sunscreen with a sun protection factor (SPF) of at least 15 (up to SPF 50). An SPF of 15 or 30 should be fine for most people.

More research studies are needed to test if sunscreen with more than SPF 50 offers any extra protection.

• If possible, avoid the sunscreen ingredient oxybenzone because of concerns about mild hormonal properties. Remember, though, that it’s important to take steps to prevent sunburn, so using any sunscreen is better than not

DON’T SPRAY IT Consumer Reports and the Food and Drug Administration advise against using spray suncreens for children. The concern is that squirmy wiggly kids will move while being sprayed and inhale sunscreen.

Consumer Reports urges completely avoiding sunscreen sprays for use with children. If no other option is available, an adult can spray the product on their hands and rub it on children, taking care to avoid the eyes and mouth.

Adults may safely use sprays, but not for applying sunscreen to the face. As with children, apply to the hands and then carefully to the face. +

using sunscreen at all.

• For sensitive areas of the body, such as the nose, cheeks, tops of the ears, and shoulders, choose a sunscreen with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide. These products may stay visible on the skin even after you rub them in, and some come in fun colors that children enjoy.

How to Apply Sunscreen • Use enough sunscreen to cover all exposed areas, especially the face, nose, ears, feet, hands, and even backs of the knees. Rub it in well.

• Put sunscreen on 15 to 30 minutes before going outdoors.

It needs time to absorb into the skin.

• Use sunscreen any time you or your child spend time outdoors. Remember that you can get sunburn even on cloudy days because up to 80% of the sun’s UV rays can get through the clouds. Also, UV rays can bounce back from water, sand, snow, and concrete, so make sure you’re protected.

• Reapply sunscreen every 2 hours and after swimming, sweating, or drying off with a towel. Because most people use too little sunscreen, make sure to apply a generous amount.

Sunscreen for Babies • For babies younger than 6 months: Use sunscreen on small areas of the body, such as the face, if protective clothing and shade are not available.

• For babies older than 6 months: Apply to all areas of the body, but be careful around the eyes.

If your baby rubs sunscreen into her eyes, wipe her eyes and hands clean with a damp cloth.

Stay at home alternatives from the professionals at Right at Home “Right at Home” owners Celeste Hoffman and Kathy Crist introduce therapy dog Snickers to Mrs. Margaret Lista. Photo by Todd Lista.

For more information and a free in-home assessment, call

803-278-0250 or visit www.rightathome.net/csra.

Bookmark our blog: www.AugustaRx.com/news

Protecting the eyes and lips from sun exposure clearly helps prevent skin damage and premature aging.

Sunburns When to Call the Doctor If your baby is younger than 1 year and gets sunburn, call your baby’s doctor right away. For older children, call your child’s doctor if there is blistering, pain, or fever.

• Give your child water or 100% fruit juice to replace lost fluids.

• Use cool water to help your child’s skin feel better.

• Give your child pain medicine to relieve painful sunburns. (For a baby 6 months or younger, give acetaminophen. For a child older than 6 months, give either acetaminophen or ibuprofen.)

• Only use medicated lotions if your child’s doctor says it is OK. • Keep your child out of the sun until the sunburn is fully healed.

How to Soothe Sunburn Here are 5 ways to relieve discomfort from mild sunburn:

— Source: healthychildren.org, a website of the American Academy of Pediatrics +

If the sunscreen irritates her skin, try a different brand or sunscreen with titanium dioxide or zinc oxide. If a rash develops, talk with your child’s doctor.

JUNE 20, 2014

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

WHAT EVERYBODY OUGHT TO KNOW ABOUT GENES, ENVIRONMENT, AND THOUGHT

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AUGUSTA

ill had three boys through a stable marriage that afforded them a reasonable upbringing. There was none of this “different baby-momma” and other such family disintegration that plagues our society today.

They all had the same last name, enough to eat, clothes to wear, regular bedtimes, and a decent Christian upbringing. They were kind to animals, respected their elders, and prayed before meals just like the Good Book says.

You would have thought the boys might be carbon copies of each other. Well, they weren’t. As they grew up they diverged slightly. While it is true their genetic codes were greatly related and their home environment was the same, individuality gradually set in.

And that is what makes our families have their various oddities that sometimes amaze us and other times confound us. These variations sometimes make us think, “Wow, ain’t she grand? I’m

proud of her.” Other times we think, “Do you mean to say I am actually kin to him?

Got to be a mistake here somewhere.”

Take this seemingly mundane event as a case in point: One day Bill’s wife forgot to put lunch money in the bookbags of their three grade-school boys. The day went normally until lunch time, when individually they discovered they had no lunch money to quiet their hunger pangs.

The boys were in different grades and therefore did not eat together. Each was on his own to solve the problem of an empty stomach in the middle of the day.

If we are to believe that environment and/or genetics predetermines everything and that the individual is not responsible for his behavior or outcome, then we would expect each of the boys to have done the same thing.

Well, they did not. Not even close. One boy, not wanting others to see him not eat, snuck off to the baseball FREE T AKE-H OME C OPY!

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AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER • FOUNDED IN 2006

FEBRUARY 21, 2014

This newspaper is delivered to more than

500 private practice doctor’s offices and to 14 area hospitals.

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We’re Augusta’s Most Salubrious Newspaper

Clinically proven. Doctor recommended.

Next issue: July 11 See p. 3 for details

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t s e B field and hid out in the dugout during lunch, thereby avoiding his preconceived embarrassment. When the bell rang ending lunch break, he dutifully went back to class without a single complaint.

He did not adopt the “poor little me, the victim of society, who has no food for a few hours.” (It is interesting to note this happened years ago and he did not turn out to be traumatized or stigmatized, both of which might have rendered him susceptible to gang activity or criminal intent. No, he is a normal, productive professional. He learned self-sacrifice. You don’t have to have everything right now. It is OK to wait sometimes.)

The second boy discreetly went to his teacher, explained

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M.E.

THE AUGUSTA MEDICAL EXAMINER AUGUSTA’S MOST SALUBRIOUS NEWSPAPER

e n i c i d ME

what had happened and asked to borrow some money for lunch, which he would repay the following day.

He ate as usual and repaid the money the following day without event. He too turned out just fine, thank you. He learned how to use OPM. (That stands for other people’s money.)

The third boy went to his locker, found a kit for making plastic spiders and other such monstera, and made several which he sold for enough money to eat and have a profit to take home that night.

Today, he is a successful businessman and drives a paid-for car worth much more than mine. Or his father’s for that matter.

The events were the same for each of them. No lunch

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money in their book bags.

The only thing different was what each thought about the situation.

Most of our lives are pretty much the same. Virtually the same events happen to each of us pretty regularly. But you get to decide what to do about the minor inconveniences that befall you along the sway. You can crawl away and whine about your misfortunes, or you can manage it. You get to decide for yourself.

You can’t change your genes. It is difficult to change your environment. But you can change how you think.

And it doesn’t cost one red cent.

And that, Dear Hearts, is how you make the choice between being a champion or being a victim. + 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 706-306-9397

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JUNE 20, 2014

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER I N

T H E

F I R ST

P E R S ON

One word: thunderclap

n February 27, 2014 I had an experience that will, hopefully, never repeat itself. The Healthy Woman Expo, sponsored by Trinity Hospital of Augusta, was being held at The Legends club and I was to give the invocation.

I was having a grand time, catching up on news with friends, looking at the information and receiving giveaways from vendors.

While visiting with Hillary Odom (an extremely talented photographer) and Trinity’s CNO, Megan Freeman, we joked about the pose shown in one of Hilary’s framed photographs.

Megan commented on how red I was (as a redhead, blushing is

It could only cry out, “Make it stop!” embarrassingly often for me), but something seemed different.

I felt like I was on fire, from head to toe. Then, the pain hit as though someone had hit me at the base of my skull with a baseball bat!

Holding a hand to the back of my head, Megan quickly realized something was wrong.

She led me to a chair. After sitting, I felt as though I would faint, so she gently laid me on the floor. There is something to be said about having a crisis surrounded by nurses

and physicians. They were all comforting and assessing without trying to be obvious.

The pain was so intense that I could only cry out, “Make it stop!” Later I would feel a bit childish at this repetitive request, but at that moment it was all I could think.

Cohesive speech and thought were difficult, my limbs were shaking, and the tears just flowed of their own volition.

My first thought was an aneurysm, as was the thought of several of the nurses and physicians. An ambulance took me to Trinity Hospital’s emergency department.

The staff were wonderful.

I work with them daily on

the professional side. It was different being the patient, but I could not have asked for a better team.

The CT scan showed no brain bleeds, which was a relief. Yet, the intense pain stubbornly persisted. The one thing that was most different was my blood pressure, which had spiked. It took a couple hours to get the pain under control. After much medication, tests, and care I was finally released to go home. My concerned husband had been with me the entire time. My daughter came to be with us and tried to make light of the situation.

The next day I saw my primary care physician. He told me I had a thunderclap headache. Sounds silly to go through all that for a headache, right? I did some research to find out more about something I had never heard of. My physician ran extensive tests to try to find the cause.

It seems that a thunderclap headache (aptly named) is at

the top of the migraine scale.

It strikes without warning. It may happen once in a lifetime or it may reoccur. It is vascular and often is a warning sign of a serious problem, such as an aneurysm, stroke, embolus or tumor. Sometimes the cause is never found, which was my case - at least, so far. There is no real treatment for thunderclap headaches except to find the underlying cause. Knowing that there is a chance I could have another thunderclap headache bothers me if I dwell on it, so I don’t. I know I would need an emergency department should I ever have one again. Other than that, I have faith that help will be there if and when I need it.

The staff at Trinity were kind and attentive. They answered every question and got the pain under control as quickly as possible. I am grateful there is a qualified team ready and able any time I - or anyone else - may need them. + — by Frankie B. May

WE’RE BEGGING YOU We’re never too proud to beg. What we’re begging for is Medicine in the First Person stories. With your help, we’d like to make this a feature in every issue of the Medical Examiner. After all, everybody has a story of something health- or medicine-related, and lots of people have many stories. Send your interesting (or even semi-interesting) stories to the Medical Examiner, PO Box 397, Augusta, GA 30903 or e-mail to Dan@AugustaRx.com. Thanks!

“The cause was a mystery for a long time.”

“And that’s when I fell.” nearest hospital “He doesn’t remember a thing.” “The was 30 miles away.”

“I was a battlefield medic.” “He was just two when he died.”

“OUCH!”

“It was a terrible tragedy.” “She saved “I sure learned my lesson.”

“I retired from medicine my life.” “It seemed like a miracle.” seven years ago.” “We had triplets.” “It was my first year “I thought, ‘Well, this is it’.” NOTHING SEEMED of medical school.”

“They took me to the hospital by helicopter.” TO HELP, UNTIL. . “It took 48 stitches.”

ambulance crashed.”

“Now THAT hurt!” “The “My leg was broken “I’m not supposed to be alive.”

“This was on my third day in Afghanistan.” in three places.”

“I lost 23 pounds.” “Turned out it was just indigestion.”

“At first I thought it was something I ate.” “The smoke detector woke me up.”

Everybody has a story. Tell us yours.

Here’s our “No Rules Rules.” We’ll publish your name and city, or keep you anonymous. Your choice. Length? Up to you. Subject? It can be a monumental medical event or just a stubbed toe. It can make us laugh or make us cry. One thing we’re not interested in, however: please, no tirades against a certain doctor or hospital. Ain’t nobody got time for that.

“

Don’t go on discussing what a good person should be. Just be one.

— Marcus Aurelius

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JUNE 20, 2014

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Southern Girl Eats Clean

Grilled Peaches and Coconut Milk Ice Cream

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+ The Medical Examiner has been published continuously under the same management longer than any newspaper in Augusta except the Augusta Chronicle.

2522 Wrightsboro Road

736-7230

Every time we think we’ve handled the last ice storm victim, somebody else walks in.

(This was just last week.)

Head to toe service: Jerry will shine your shoes while we cut your hair. www.danielvillagebarbershop.com

We’re on Wrightsboro Rd. at Ohio Avenue.

DANIEL VILLAGE BARBER SHOP

Medical Complex

76 Circle K former Smile Gas

Highland Ave.

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Daniel Village Barber Shop

Ohio Ave.

Peaches are my absolute favorite fruit. I grew up in upstate South Carolina and peach trees were right outside my door. Fields of peach trees were all around our area. Every spring the beauty of their blooms would take your breath away. As all teenagers did in the upstate, I worked in the peach shed, packing peaches for a summer job. Nothing is better than a juicy, ripe peach on a hot summer day.

Last weekend we found the most delicious way to serve peaches.

Quite often I visit our local olive oil store here in Augusta, High Country Olive Oil Company. If you have not taken the time to go by and sample some of their lovely olive oils and balsamic vinegars, I urge to do so. Many times I use their infused oils and flavored balsamic vinegars when preparing our meals. This is a way to add flavor to our meals while still keeping them clean and healthy. Eating clean is possible if you include a variety of flavor-forward foods in your diet. Otherwise, you will get bored very quickly.

Here is a quick and easy way to serve those beautiful peaches without much time or effort. If you are like us, we grill about every weekend in the summer months. After you pull those grass fed steaks off the grill, why Serve the grilled peaches balsamic vinegar from High not grill some peaches? over the ice cream.

Country Olive Oil Company Please note, this recipe calls Drizzle with the remaining • 1 small container of vanilla for Coconut Milk Ice Cream, Tbsp. of Sweet Peach balsamic but you could substitute regular coconut milk ice cream (I used vinegar.

Coconut Bliss brand) vanilla ice cream. However, Garnish with a pinch of • 1 pinch of ground cinnamon the health benefits of coconut ground cinnamon and chopped • Garnish with chopped milk are much greater than pecans if desired. + pecans, optional regular dairy milk. Its unique fatty acids may aid in weight loss, improve immune function, Directions: Alisa Rhinehart writes the blog Wash, remove the pit and reduce heart disease risk and www.southerngirleatsclean.com slice the peaches then place improve skin and hair health.

She is a working wife and mother onto a tray with peel side down.

Coconut milk is non dairy, living in Evans, Whisk together, 2 Tbsp. of which is also great for those Georgia. Visit her folks that can not tolerate dairy. olive oil and 1 Tbsp. of Sweet blog for more recipes Peach Balsamic vinegar. Brush Remember though, don’t eat and information on mixture on the flesh side of the whole tub. Have a single clean eating. the peaches. Place peaches serving, which is 1/2 cup. flesh side down onto the grill.

For more information about Grill only until the peaches are What you’ll need: coconut milk: slightly softened and have grill • 2-3 fresh peaches, pitted and http://www.livestrong.com/ marks. sliced with peel on article/409614-the-health-benefitsPlace a serving of coconut • 2 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil of-coconut-milk/ milk ice cream in 2-4 bowls.

• 2 Tbsp. of Sweet Peach

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P harmacy 411

OUR NEWSSTANDS Medical locations:

Around town: • Barney’s Pharmacy, 2604 Peach Orchard Rd. • Birth Control Source, 1944 Walton Way • GRU Summerville 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 • Parks Pharmacy, Georgia Avenue, North 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 many nurses stations and waiting rooms of area hospitals.

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.

CAN I ENJOY THE SUMMER SUN?

A

s summer gets into full swing there is a greater chance of getting out in the sun but can some of your medicines cause problems this summer? Let’s look at the interaction between certain medications and the ultraviolet part of sunlight and tanning beds.

There are two types of reactions that can occur when you take a medicine that has a sun-sensitizing side effect.

The most common reaction is photo toxicity, where the medicine present in your body increases absorbtion of ultraviolet rays. This can kill the skin cells directly absorbing those rays and cause a burn at the least. This type of reaction occurs only on the part of the body exposed to the ultraviolet light. In some people these reactions have been known to last for years before fully and finally resolving.

The second type of reaction, and one that is much more uncommon, is a photo-allergy reaction, where the drug’s chemical structure is changed by the light. After this change occurs the new structure will produce antibodies that cause an allergic reaction in the skin. Once it begins, this type of reaction can spread to non-exposed parts of the body.

As with most drug interactions, not everyone that takes a given medication will have a given side effect. Even so, prevention when possible is better than attepting to treat after the fact. Prevention is even smarter when it is as simple as using sunscreen and protective clothing.

Let’s look at which medicines can cause sensitivity to the sun. There are several classes of medicines that can cause these reactions ranging from antibiotics and acne drugs to blood pressure and heart rhythm medications. The antibiotics most often known to be a problem are doxycycline, tetracycline, trimethoprim/sulfamethoxazole (present in Septra and Bactrim) and the fluoroquinolone class (recognized by the floxacin ending). Blood pressure/heart medicines include diuretics as well as diltiazem and amiodarone. The over-the-counter acne medicine benzoyl peroxide, as well

as many of the prescription acne medicines, can also cause sun sensitivity. Promethazine, a popular nausea medicine, and diphenhydramine, also known as Benadryl, have also caused these reactions. Some of the statin class of cholesterol medications can cause sun reactions. Diabetics are not safe either, as the drugs glipizide and glyburide are known offenders. The antifungal drug griseofulvin also gets the red-skin red flag. Certain mental health medicines — like chlorpromazine, doxepin, St. John’s Wort and many of the subclass known as tricyclic antidepressants (recognized by their triptyline ending) — should also keep you in the shade. The last individual drugs in our not all-inclusive list here are anti-inflammatory drugs like Celebrex as well as ibuprofen, naproxen, ketoprofen and piroxicam.

So how do we prevent these reactions? For the most part by using common sense, which is what you should employ during the summer whether you take any of these drugs or not.

Wear a hat with a wide brim, and loose clothing that covers as much of the skin as possible. Avoid direct sunlight when possible and use sunscreen with full UVA and UVB protection the rest of the time.

Remember that sunscreen needs to be waterproof to keep from being washed off by water, including sweat. Reapply a waterproof sunscreen approximately once an hour. Most sunscreens are only rated for eighty minutes of use under wet conditions. An SPF factor of at least thirty should be utilized.

The higher the SPF, or Sun Protection Factor, the more of the sun’s ray it can block. Anything over 50 or 100 I feel is a waste of money because SPF 30 blocks ninety-seven percent of the sun’s radiation.

So have a great summer, but play it smart and don’t damage your skin. +

We don’t have a 6-acre parking lot.

Written for the Medical Examiner by Augusta pharmacists Chris and Lee Davidson (cjdlpdrph@bellsouth.net )

But next time you visit us you can park several blocks away if you prefer.

P

ARKS

Questions about this article or suggestions for future columns can be sent to us at cjdlpdrph@bellsouth.net

William E. Durrett, Jr., M.D. Pain Management, Anesthesiology & Perioperative Medicine www.aikenpain.com / email: thepaincenter@aikenneuro.com

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• 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 • Eisenhower Hospital, Main Lobby, 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

JUNE 20, 2014

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

+

JUNE 20, 2014

9+

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

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Useful food facts from dietetic interns with University Hospital’s Augusta Area Dietetic Internship Program

A

The Dish on Grilling Out

s the weather gets warmer, this is the best time of year to get your grill started and have a crowd over for good food and great company. However, before you have friends and family over to grill out this summer, make sure you are paying attention to the safety and nutrition content of the foods you’re serving.

Safety First Grilling out is a great way to enjoy quality time with friends and family, but the number one goal is to keep everyone healthy and happy, and wanting to come back next time! Ensure quality and safe foods by adhering to the following tips: 1. Wash your hands thoroughly before, during, and after food preparation.

2. Scrub your grill prior to each use, making sure to remove charred food debris from the grill to reduce exposure to bacteria.

3. Keep raw food separate from ready-to-eat foods, and never use the same utensils, such as cutting boards or knives, for both.

4. Keep perishable foods outside for no more than an hour. Any longer and harmful bacteria will begin to grow.

5. Place leftovers in fresh containers and refrigerate promptly.

Can Charring Be Harmful To My Health?

When proteins (meat, chicken, fish) are cooked at high temperatures, carcinogenic (cancercausing) compounds can form, especially in the places where the meat is charred. Although the research is not conclusive that these compounds are dangerous, it is better to be safe than sorry and avoid charring. This can be done by removing fat and skin prior to grilling, marinating for at least 30 minutes, and cooking foods at a lower temperature to the side of the flames instead of directly over them.

A recent study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry found that using a dark beer-based marinade may reduce the formation of these potentially harmful carcinogenic substances. So instead of drinking a beer with your dinner, consider using it as the marinade!

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skinless chicken breast, pork loin, ground turkey for burgers, and a variety of seafood.

Mix it up on the grill with fruits and vegetables, using different marinades to bring out their natural flavor. Fruits and vegetables do not produce the same potentially harmful compounds when charring as protein-containing foods like meats do. Combine the following ingredients in a bowl to create a marinade that can go over any combination of fruit and vegetable skewers: 1/2 cup olive oil 1/2 cup lemon or lime juice 1/4 cup water 1/4 cup Dijon mustard 2 Tablespoons maple syrup 1 Tablespoons minced garlic 2 Tablespoons chopped fresh basil leaves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground back pepper Throw the skewers on the grill for about 10 minutes, or until they are lightly charred.

Summer squash, tomatoes, onions, eggplants, peppers and peaches are just some of the seasonal gems that are easy to grill and add flavor and health benefits to your outdoor feast.

Taste is important, of course, but make it your number one priority this summer to keep the food safe and nutritious for all of your guests!

Happy grilling! + — by Amy Silver, Dietetic Intern

Make It Healthy and Delicious After all, it is bathing suit season! Serve foods that are both healthy and delicious, and you’ll be sure to impress everyone at the party. Not only will they enjoy every bite, they won’t have to worry about regretting it when the weekend is over. You’re already on the right track by grilling food instead of frying it. Grilling is naturally a low-fat cooking method and the high-temperatures bring out the flavors without adding extra calories. To make your party bites even more nutritious, choose lean meats such as

References: http://www.newswise.com/articles/no-grilling-regretshealthy-and-flavorful-grilling-ideas-and-techniques-fromthe-home-food-safety-program http://life.nationalpost.com/2014/05/13/dark-beer-basedmarinade-makes-barbecue-grilled-meat-healthier-studyfinds/ http://www.news-gazette.com/living/2014-05-20/yourhealth-its-grilling-season-lets-be-safe-out-there.html

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If tomorrow women woke up and decided they really liked their bodies, just think how many industries would go out of business.

- Dr. Gail Dines

“

+ 10

JUNE 20, 2014

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

The Money Doctor Student loans — what are my options?

T

will want to identify if your loans are private or federal.

If they are federal, you will want to identify what type of loan you have such as Perkins, Stafford (Subsidized and Unsubsidized), Parent PLUS, Grad PLUS, or Consolidation loans.

here are approximately 37 million student loan borrowers with outstanding student loans today. According to the Wall Street Journal and data compiled by analyst Mark Kantrowitz, the average loan-holding for a 2014 college graduate is $33,000. Unfortunately, the percentage of borrowers who are defaulting on student loans has been increasing steadily since 2003. Today over 10% of borrowers are in default compared to just 4.5% in 2003.

Many default because they fail to build a student loan payoff plan and do not understand the options available.

Here are some items and questions you should consider when putting a student loan payoff plan together. It is important to remember that your situation will change over time, and you should revisit your plan when major life events take place.

• What is the current payment plan for each loan?

For this question, it may be best to make a spreadsheet or write down all the information on one page. You will want to confirm the type of loan from above, interest rate (fixed or variable), current monthly payment, and expected payoff date. All federal loans will have a fixed interest rate, but the rate may be different depending on when the loan originated. New graduates will need to start payments 6 months after graduation.

• What options do you have to reduce your interest rate or your payment?

You will want to consider taking advantage of the interest rate reduction normally offered for enrolling in automatic deductions from your bank account. This will ensure you never forget to write a check and decrease your interest rate.

Other options for reducing your payment should be considered with caution. There

• What kind of loans do you have?

It is important to know how many and what type of loans you have. You can start by checking your credit report at www.annualcreditreport.com to make sure you are aware of all the loans you have. You can also check the National Student Loan Data System at www. nslds.ed.gov/nslds_SA/ . You

are many programs available to help borrowers reduce the monthly payment amount, but often times the lower payment will result in paying more interest over the life of the loan. For private loans, you can negotiate terms with your lender. For federal loans you can take advantage of extended repayment, graduated repayment, income-contingent repayment, income-sensitive repayment, income-based repayment, pay as you earn, or consolidation plans. As a general rule you never want to consolidate federal and private loans. Anytime you consolidate loans of different types you risk losing deferment and forgiveness options especially with Perkins loans. These options are much better than defaulting, but they will not help you pay off your loans any faster.

• What does deferment and forbearance mean and when can I use those options?

If you are still having trouble making your payment after using the repayment plans, then you may qualify for deferment or forbearance on federal loans.

Deferment will allow you to not make payments under certain conditions which

include unemployment, extreme economic hardship, enrolling in school at least half time, or active duty military.

During a deferment period the federal government will pay any interest that accrues on your subsidized federal loans.

For all other types of loans the interest will continue to accrue.

Forbearance is normally used as a last resort for financial hardship or illness and granted at the discretion of your lender or servicer for limited amounts of time. During a forbearance period the interest will continue to accrue on all loan types.

• Will my loan be forgiven or discharged in certain situations?

In certain situations, your federal loan may be discharged.

These are normally extreme hardship situations such as death, total permanent disability, or a school closure before you complete your program. Student loans are generally not dischargeable in bankruptcy due to laws passed in 1976, 1984, and 2005.

There are a few income driven repayment plans that allow federal loans to be forgiven after making payments for 20 or 25 years.

Those plans include the income-based repayment, pay as you earn repayment, and the income-contingent repayment plans. These plans normally require a financial hardship to qualify, and you will need to re-apply annually to stay on the program. Your payments will be adjusted based on your Adjusted Gross Income (AGI) each year. The amount forgiven at the end is normally considered taxable income in

that year.

Finally, federal loans do allow partial or complete forgiveness to those that teach or work in public service under the Teacher Loan Forgiveness Program and Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Teachers must teach full time for five consecutive years at an eligible school on the U.S. Department of Education’s Teacher Cancellation Low Income Directory.

The Public Service program requires ten years of payments and covers a number of different occupations including but not limited to military service, law enforcement, and public health to include doctors and nurses. Normally, those that decide to participate in these programs need to plan ahead to maximize the benefits.

Participants should consider using consolidation and the income based repayment plan to minimize your payment amount. The amount forgiven at the end is not included in taxable income.

Hopefully the information above has given you items to consider doing more research on as you work through your debt payoff plan. It is always better to be proactive and contact your lender to try and work out an agreement rather than let your loans become delinquent or go into default. +

by Clayton Quamme. Clayton is a financial planner with Preston & Cleveland Wealth Management, LLC (www.preston-cleveland. com). Preston & Cleveland is a fee-only financial planning and investment advisory firm with offices in Atlanta and Augusta, GA and Columbia, SC.

APPS, SCHMAPPS.

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JUNE 20, 2014

11 +

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

From the Bookshelf The blog spot – Posted by Terri Schmitt at www.nursestory.com (edited for space)

A LETTER TO HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS ...from a fellow provider turned patient: Advice for your practice Dear Health Care Provider, Recently, I have had interactions with the healthcare system in which you work, specifically with you as my provider and me as the patient. The past few months have served as an important reminder that most of the time I do not enjoy interacting with the healthcare system. After a recent visit I jotted down the following list of advice from the patient perspective: 1.) Hire at least one good registered nurse (RN) who has acute care experience and then train them in primary care.

Registered nurses have more extensive training than medical assistants and in the long run they will save you time, money, lawsuits, personal time answering patient questions, identify issues with patients, and generally make your practice more safe and leave you with happier patients.

2.) Perform good phone triage. This means actually answering the phone first, then having a system for pharmacy refills, questions about home care, etc. This leads back to #1.

When RNs do your phone triage you can keep your patients better educated, connected, and your practice running more smoothly. More than good customer service, it’s safe practice.

3.) Good patient care begins at the front desk. This area and its staff should be pleasant, quiet, understanding, and not a place where co-pays, addresses, and phone numbers are available for the rest of the waiting room to hear. Treating patients kindly and with respect begins with the culture you set up in your office. Love your staff and they will probably love you and your patients and make everyone a bit happier.

4.) Remember you are there to serve, not the other way around. Being able to see patients, hear their most intimate physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual needs is a great responsibility. Every aspect of being a healthcare provider means service. It is also a privilege. If you do not want to do the job, perhaps it’s time to rethink what you do. Take an extended leave to regroup, or find something else that excites you.

5.) Put your hands on the patient and examine them. Use your senses and your brain, not just test results. I actually have a recent and obvious abnormality that I have been easily able to palpate for 18 months. I have seen 4 different providers now and not one — no, not one — has palpated my “obvious” chief complaint. They have imaged, tested, screened, and are planning for even bigger and fancier tests, but not one single provider has actually palpated “obvious.”

No one even put a stethoscope on my chest and listened.

6.) Listen to patients. Talk to patients. Ask them not only if they have questions, but also if they have fears or doubts about the information you are providing. I appreciate that you are on a schedule, doctor, but so was I while I waited 45 minutes in your waiting room and listened to your receptionist give the woman who came in after me a hard time about being 15 minutes late. I am here because I think I have a problem. You have a solution, but I want to know more than just the medical risks that you breeze through like a big pharma TV commercial. Please. Just 5 minutes.

7.) Allow patients to call you by your first name. If you get to call me Terri, then I should get to call you Bob. 8.) Make your own return phone calls to patients regarding medications or lab work. You can bill for this. I know it takes time, but it’s worth it. Let them know you give a crap about how they are doing. Clear out time in your schedule to do this.

9.) Wash your hands, frequently. PLEASE! I want to see you do this. I guess if you do not touch me (see #5) then you believe there is no need to wash up. You’re wrong.

A new patient’s perspective.

Sincerely, Your Patient (who happens to also be a health care provider) +

There is a lot about the human body that is aweinspiring and fascinating, but if you’re going to award a Most Amazing Body Part trophy, it’s going to go to the brain just about every time.

Imagine a bowl of jello, as the brain is frequently (and insultingly) described, which can generate electrical fields, communicate in multiple ways — this jello can create songs and lyrics, sometimes speak in several languages, write poetry, and even send silent signals to others — undertake the study of the universe and calculate complicated equations, contemplate its own jello-ness, as well as its own mortality.

This jello can even tell the bowl containing it to get up and go across the room or across town and the bowl will usually obey.

Yes, the brain is one pretty amazing quivering blob, and it is the subject of this fascinating book.

If you like history, buckle your seatbelt for this ride, because Sam Kean (our author) has done his homework, tracking down

brain researchers from the 14th century right up to recent developments like the NFL’s agreement last year to fund concussion research.

Truth be told, this book is a lot more about the people who were the pioneers of brain research, primitive though they may have been by today’s standards, than it is about the brain itself.

Even so, if you put a quarter in a jar every time you run across a word like “cortex” or “neurotransmitter” or “hypothalamus” or “cerebellum” or “dendrite,” or... well, you get the idea... you’re going to have a nice little chunk of change by the

time you reach page 416.

And chances are you will reach that page fairly quickly, because this isn’t some stuffy and arcane treatise prepared for the sole edification of brain surgeons and their ilk, and nothing but a brainteaser for the rest of us.

No, Kean writes with a style that will cause your brain to tell your eyes to move back and forth across lines of text until it reaches a point where it commands your arm to move your hand to the right hand page and to flip it over and across, revealing the next two pages to your roving eyes, and it will do all these things and more with great regularity. (Of course, your brain will continue to regulate your autonomous nervous system and such routine chores as breathing, so no worries there. Read away.) +

The Tale of the Dueling Neurosurgeons — And Other True Stories of Trauma, Madness, Affliction and Recovery That Reveal the Surprising History of the Human Brain, by Sam Kean, 416 pages, published in 2014 by Little, Brown and Company.

Research News Maybe you don’t need a Boost Alternate title: “Marketing Strikes Again.”

The American Geriatrics Society earlier this year issued a warning taking direct aim at the kind of drinks you might find in many an older person’s cupboard or refrigerator — or in nursing homes, hospitals and assisted living facilities, for that matter.

We’re talking about those “meal in a bottle” supplements like Ensure and Boost.

At a presentation during the Society’s annual meeting in May, the supplements were described as little more than “liquid candy bars,” albeit with vitamins added.

For example, as Paula Span wrote in a New York Times blog post, “Froot Loops and Lucky Charms have much less sugar per serving” than drinks like Boost.

Their primary ingredients are typically water and sugar, yet they’re marketed as essential components of a healthy, active lifestyle.

Dr. Paul Mulhausen of the American Geriatrics Society says the only application for these drinks that has any real value would be for very sick and malnourished patients in a hospital setting, or for a patient suffering from neck or esophageal cancers that make swallowing difficult.

This will give you a boost Ok, so maybe you don’t need a Boost, but we can all use a boost from time to time.

A new and significant study gives it, offering proof that exercise is good for us.

Wait, you say. That is old news. Everyone knows that exercise is beneficial for health.

True, but a.) we can’t hear it often enough because we all need a boost with an uncapitalized b from time to time — and speaking of small b’s: b.) this new study is noteworthy for its size and length: more than two and a half years. And for who participated.

The spring chickens in

this study of more than 1,600 sedentary men and women were age 70. The top age was 89.

All were measured on a fitness scale devised by researchers, all were fairly unfit (more than half scored 8 or below on a 12-point scale), some were “on the cusp of frailty,” but all were able to at least walk on their own for a quarter of a mile (400 meters).

After dividing participants into a control group and an exercise group, the exercisers were given their walking papers, aiming for a total of 150 minutes of walking per week, along with three supervised 10minute weight-training exercises each week.

The study tracked both groups for the next 2.6 years (beginning in 2010). Over the duration of the study, the exercising group was about 18 percent less likely to have experienced any episode of physical disability, and were also 28 percent less likely to have become persistently or permanently disabled (defined as being unable to walk 400 meters by themselves. +

+ 12

JUNE 20, 2014

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE EXAMiNERS +

Good to see you again today, sir. Are you ready to order?

by Dan Pearson

Want your usual?

The biggest steak in the house, served extra rare?

Yes I am.

No, not any more.

I’ve got to start ordering my steaks very well done.

Why?

Doctor’s orders.

He told me absolutely no red meat. © 2014 Daniel Pearson All rights reserved.

EXAMINER CROSSWORD

PUZZLE

1

2

3

4

13

14

16

17

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

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

We’ll announce the winner in our next issue!

VISIT WWW.AUGUSTARX.COM

15 18

Click on “READER CONTESTS”

QUOTATION PUZZLE H C T G I G O T N E M H

P I A H

M A A N

T Y M M N E O O ’ K I N A N T L

Y E O R Y K P S N T O O L O S W E

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2014 All rights reserved

— Steven Wright

DIRECTIONS: Recreate a timeless nugget of wisdom by using the letters in each vertical column to fill the boxes above them. 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.

E

6

S

4 8

4 9 3 3 6 1 4 2 3 9 8 7 7 5 4 5 1 9 8 7 1 9 8

X A M I N E R

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2014 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 or numbers with minimal choices listed. A sample is shown. Solution on page 14.

1 2 1

S 1 2

1 2 3 4

F 1 2 3 4 5 6

I 1 2 3 4 5 6 O 1 2 1 2 3 4

E 1 2 3 4 5 6

1 2 1 2

O 1

2

— Kent Nerburn

3

1 . F M AT T O B I B I T E 2 . O O U A H S A N T E E 3 . TA C C E S 4 . H H O N I 5 . M E E 6 . E R R

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

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by Daniel R. Pearson © 2014 All rights reserved

BY

The Mystery Word for this issue: CESSURENN

12

19 20 21 ACROSS 1. Summerville campus 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 men’s basketball coach 31 32 4. ______ Market Grill 10. Thai leader?

33 34 35 36 37 13. Black bird 38 39 40 41 42 14. Aiken’s ______ Pavilion 15. Financial inst. for CSRA 43 44 45 46 47 medical community 48 49 50 16. Annoy 17. Unfortunate 51 52 53 54 55 19. Eye component 56 57 58 21. Eagle’s nest (var.)

22. Unwavering 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66 27. We’re all doing it 24/7 67 68 69 31. Widen, enlarge 32. Underwater radar 70 71 72 33. Kid’s charity with hot air

by Daniel R. Pearson © 2014 All rights reserved. Built in part with software from www.crauswords.com balloon logo (abbrev.)

36. French bread?

33. Medicine _____ DOWN 37. 4th highest moutain 34. Sano beginning 1. Well-known Jefferson in the world 35. Pertaining to the nose 2. Inactive 38. _____frost (poetic) 37. Words to a song (usually 3. ____ dust 40. Furys follower plural) 4. Wide partner 42. Dull 39. Course of medical 5. Regret 43. Place in bondage treatment 6. Unit of energy 45. Migraine symptom 41. Flees 7. And not 47. Malt beverage 44. Happen again 8. Establish 48. Tour de France leg 46. Past tense of 65-D 9. Detest 49. Set on fire 49. Formulate ideas 51. Tending to a definite end 10. Polychlorinatedbiphenyl 50. Low-ranking naval offcr.

11.

Common knee abbrev.

52. The lowest part of a g.

53. Calls, old style 12. Owing 56. Think 15. ______-Holsey Hall (at Paine) 54. Anesthetic 58. An S in 72-A 55. Reposes 18. Rubbish 59. Interpose or interpolate 57. Wound leftover 20. Unhappy 66. Hot tub sounds 59. Research oversight agcy.

23. ____-hard 67. Purple _____ 60. Arrest 24. Something trivial 68. Loss of muscle 61. Twitch 25. River in central coordination 62. Fall behind Switzerland 69. Permit 63. Chopping tool 26. Type of unit?

70. Top Gear network 64. Metallic element 28. Venous starter 71. Someone an Augusta 65. Present tense of 46-D 29. Type of medicinal spray university is named for 30. Diving bird 72. DOE facility Solution p. 14

WORDS NUMBER

THE MYSTERY WORD

JUNE 20, 2014

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AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

THE BEST MEDICINE ha... ha...

A

mazing but true: if all your blood vessels, arteries and capillaries were laid end to end from here to the moon, you would die.

Three women — a blonde, a brunette and a redhead — devised and carried out a financial scam. Eventually they got caught and were sent to prison.

Because it was a white collar crime, they were sent to a minimum security prison with relaxed rules. Each woman was told she could bring one personal item when they reported to the prison to begin their sentence.

Discussing it, the brunette said, “I decided to bring my Bible. That will give me hours of comfort every day. What about you two?”

The redhead said, “I’m just bringing a deck of cards. I can play solitaire for hours at a time.”

The blonde said, “You’re both idiots. I’m bringing a box of tampons.”

“Why on earth...?” said the other two.

“Look at the box,” she said, tossing it to them. “With these I can go swimming, hiking, horseback riding, bicycling, jogging, play volleyball...”

If the entire human race would join hands

in unity around the equator, a significant number of them would drown.

The tired doctor was awakened by a phone call very late one night.

“Please come right over,” pleaded the distraught young mother. “My child has swallowed a contraceptive.”

The physician dressed quickly, but before he could get out the door, the phone rang again.

“You don’t have to come over after all,” the same woman said with a sigh of relief. “My husband just found another one.”

After a long and serious operation, Laura lapsed into a coma.

The doctors tried everything, but they couldn’t bring her out of it. When her husband Bill came into intensive care to see her, they gave him the bad news. “We just can’t wake her. It doesn’t look good, I’m afraid,” the doctor told Bill in a quiet, somber voice.

Bill looked sadly at Laura and with a soft trembling voice, he said, “But doctor, she’s so young. She’s only 37.”

Laura instantly sat up and said, “36!”

Doctor: “I see you’re over a month late for your appointment. Don’t you know that nervous disorders require prompt and regular attention? What’s your excuse?”

Patient: “I was just following your orders.”

Doctor: “What are you talking about? I gave you no such order.”

Patient: “You told me to avoid people who irritate me.” +

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.

The Patient’s Perspective

by Marcia Ribble

Y

esterday my grandchildren all left for Michigan. They left a deep pit of emptiness behind them and at first I had to weep a little.

But today I realized one of the benefits of their absences.

In the quiet, it is far easier for me to concentrate and stay on track to accomplish goals I’ve set.

The first task I accomplished today was to order one of those emergency buttons to call for help. My kids have been nagging me for some time to make sure I could summon help if necessary. I got the snazzy new-fangled kind that not only summons help if I’m home; it also goes gallivanting with me to the movies, the grocery store, the bank, my church, or any other place I want to go, and it works like a cell phone with a GPS attached. So it can tell folks who I am, where I am, and what I need. It even has the ability to summon help if I fall and I don’t push the help button. The machine deduces that I have fallen by applying some fascinating scientific principle I do not begin to understand.

No button, however, even a fancy one like mine, replaces the attention from other sources. My Meals on Wheels driver checks up on me most days of the week. My fierce canine protector KC guards me day and night. KC is crafty and moves through space rapidly and suddenly. As her kind has done for centuries, KC considers it her lifework to ensure my safety.

My kids and grandkids call for updates on my wellbeing, as do my sisters. Although

Talk is cheap.

Not talking can be deadly.

it might appear as though I am alone, no one should ever make the mistake of believing that is the case. There is always the deep comfort of my childhood prayer: Angel of God, my guardian dear, to whom God’s love commits me here.

Ever this night be at my side, to light, to guard, to rule, and guide.

Amen And what could ever be more substantive and protective than one’s guardian angel? Almost all religions have some form of belief in angels, powerful beings, who, like my border collie KC, have the sole purpose of keeping us safe from harm.

Faith can be enormously supportive to those of us who are approaching the often isolated life of the aged. Doctors who deal with the elderly would do well to remember this aspect of healing. + Marcia Ribble received her PhD in English at Michigan State and retired from the University of Cincinnati.

She taught writing at the college level and loves giving voice to people who have been silenced. She is now teaching again at Virginia College in Augusta. She can be reached with comments, suggestions, etc., at marciaribble@hotmail.com.

+ +

SUBSCRIBE TO THE MEDICAL EXAMINER By popular demand we’re making at-cost subscriptions available for the convenience of our readers.

If you live beyond the Aiken-Augusta area or miss issues between doctor’s appointments — don’t you hate it when that happens? — we’ll command your mail carrier to bring every issue to your house!

NAME ADDRESS CITY

STATE

ZIP

Choose ____ six months for $20; or ____ one year for $36. Mail this completed form with payment to Augusta Medical Examiner, PO Box 397, Augusta GA 30903-0397

TO OUR READERS AND OUR ADVERTISERS

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JUNE 20, 2014

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

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

EXAMINER CLASSIFIEDS HOMES, APARTMENTS, ROOMMATES, LAND, ETC. WEST AUGUSTA Luxury 3 bdrm, 2 bath townhouse. Garage, quiet neighborhood off Pleasant Home Road. $795/mo. Call 706228-4655.

6.7.8

...cleverly hidden (on the roof) in the p. 9 ad for FIRST CITIZENS BANK Congratulations to MORGAN KRIDNER, who scores a coveted Scrubs of Evans gift card, 2 movie passes courtesy of Health Center Credit Union, and a $20 Wild Wing Cafe gift certificate. Want to find your name here next issue? The new Mystery Word is on page 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!

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

FOR RENT 2 bdrm 1 bath unfurn upstairs condo. Carport, pool, outside laundry. Country Club Hills condos, Milledge Road near GRU/ASU. $700/mo + $500 dep. We furn water, you pay electric.

706-736-7167 Email: ronst79@gmail. com ROOMMATE WANTED! 3 bdrm, 2.5 bath house with pool, 2 minutes from colleges. Perfect for medical or grad students. $425+share utils. 706.993.6082 WEST AUGUSTA House for rent. 3 bdrm, 2 bath, 1500 sqft, 1-car garage, 3024 Sterling Road, located off Stevens Creek at Riverwatch Pkwy. $850/mo. Call 678467-7187.

FOR SALE: GORGEOUS, immaculate, never occupied townhome located mins from Medical District. 2 bed, 2 bath, master en suite, walk-in closets, office.

1450 sq ft. hardwood floors throughout, fabulous upgrades, custom kitchen and baths. Floor to ceiling windows, fenced yard. Partially furnished! 120k OBO. 803-507-6621.

Augustagahomesearch.com Foreclosures • Rentals • MLS Roman Realty 706-564-5885

SERVICES VIDEOS-FOR-THE-WEB SERVICE Documentary style interview or demonstration shot HD with pro audio and basic edits, 3-min. finished video uploaded to your account. Complete package $250. Please call David: 803-645-8370. Documentary Video Productions, LLC – Aiken, SC. BIBLE BY PHONE - Free daily Bible readings; for Spiritual Encouragement and Growth. Call 706-855-WORD (9673) FULL-SERVICE MOVER Anthony’s Professional Moving, 28 years serving the CSRA moving hospital equipment, offices, homes, apartments, etc.

Estimates are FREE. Call 706.860.3726 or 706.814.8141

BUSINESS ASSISTANCE Ridiculously affordable and highly visible advertising available through the pages of Augusta’s Most Salubrious Newspaper, aka the Augusta Medical Examiner. Have you heard of it or seen a copy? Rates can be reviewed at AugustaRx.com. Questions? Send an e from the site, or call the publisher directly: Dan Pearson at 706.860.5455.

E: Dan@AugustaRx.com

TELL A FRIEND ABOUT THE MEDICAL EXAMINER!

SENDING US A CLASSIFIED? WHAT’S YOUR DRUG OF CHOICE? USE THE FORM BELOW AND MAIL IT IN, OR GO TO WWW.AUGUSTARX.COM AND PLACE & PAY CONVENIENTLY AND SAFELY ONLINE. THANKS!

(OURS IS COFFEE)

Augusta Medical Examiner Classifieds

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.

THE PUZZLE SOLVED D

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QUOTATION QUOTATION PUZZLE SOLUTION: Page 12: “I think it is wrong that only one company makes the game Monopoly.”

— Steven Wright

AD COPY (one word per line; phone numbers MUST include the area code): .50

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SEE PAGE 12

In case we need to contact you. These numbers will not appear in the ad.

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COFFEE IS GOOD MEDICINE

(Copy this form or continue on additional sheet if more space needed.)

Send this form with payment to:

AUGUSTA MEDICAL EXAMINER, PO BOX 397, AUGUSTA, GA 30903-0397 Total ad cost by number of words as shown above: $

VISIT DRUGOFCHOICECOFFEE.COM

WORDS

BY NUMBER “It is much easier to become a father than to be one.”

— Kent Nerburn

Multiply by number of times ad to run: x Total submitted: $

The Augusta Medical Examiner publishes on the 1st and 3rd Friday of every month.

Your ad should reach us no later than 7 days prior to our publication date.

Thanks for reading!

www.AugustaRx.com

JUNE 20, 2014

15 +

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

Home modifications improve safety and quality of life

by Kathy Crist Many homes in America are not designed to accommodate the needs of people age 65 and older.

The home that most of today’s seniors bought at a young age Crist was not built with an older person’s needs in mind.

But it’s still home, and statistics show that more than 75 percent of older Americans want to age in place instead of entering a care facility. So what can the elderly do to remain independent and safe in their homes that no longer meet their physical requirements?

If a senior has specific health requirements for the home, it may be advisable to consult with an occupational therapist or other healthcare professional.

When a safety or accessibility problem is found, discuss it with the senior homeowner — your family member in most cases — to help them adjust smoothly to the changes and upgrades in their surroundings.

Before moving ahead with home modifications, it is best for the senior along with friends or relatives to go through each room first, noting any areas needing improvement. Here’s a checklist that may be helpful.

All Rooms __ Flooring free of cracks, splits and up-turned edges

__ Carpets secure with no loose or torn patches __ Bright lighting with handy, easy-control switches __ Properly grounded electrical outlets within easy reach Kitchen __ Easy-to-use faucets, cabinet doorknobs and stove controls __ Grab bars where needed for support __ Comfortable counter height and depth Bathroom __ Easy access into and out of the bathtub or shower __ Nonslip surfaces in the bathtub or shower __ Grab bars near the toilet and bathtub or shower __ Shower/bathtub bench or

seat Doors, Windows __ Door openings wide enough to accommodate a walker or wheelchair __ Sturdy, easy-to-turn door locks __ Windows well-sealed and easy to open and close Stairs and Inclines __ Steps wide enough for whole foot __ No loose carpeting or edges __ Secure handrails on both sides of stairway at proper height __ Ramps to replace stairs or steps inside and outside In reviewing all the areas of a senior’s home that could benefit from renovations, make a list of

potential problems and possible solutions. If certain home modifications are ordered by a doctor, Medicare or Medicaid may help with costs. In addition, some towns and cities offer community development grant funds, or homeowners may qualify for a home equity mortgage to pay for home improvements. + Right at Home is a locally owned and operated serving the CSRA since 2005. Our mission is to improve the quality of life for our clients and their families. For more information about how we can assist someone you know, contact Right at Home at 803-278-0250, by email at admin@rightathomecsra.com or visit us on the web at www.csra.rightathome.net

+

PROFESSIONAL DIRECTORY DEVELOPMENTAL PEDIATRICS

ALLERGY Tesneem K. Chaudhary, MD Allergy & Asthma Center 3685 Wheeler Road, Suite 101 Augusta 30909 706-868-8555

DRUG REHAB

CHIROPRACTIC Poppell Chiropractic Clinic 1106-A Furys Lane Martinez 30907 706-210-2875 Most insurance plans accepted

DENTISTRY Dr. Judson S. Hickey Periodontist 2315-B Central Ave Augusta 30904 706-739-0071

Karen L. Carter, MD 1303 D’Antignac St, Suite 2100 Augusta 30901 706-396-0600 www.augustadevelopmentalspecialists.com

Steven L. Wilson, DMD Family Dentistry 4059 Columbia Road Martinez 30907 706-863-9445

DERMATOLOGY Georgia Dermatology & Skin Cancer Center 2283 Wrightsboro Rd. (at Johns Road) Augusta 30904 706-733-3373 www.GaDerm.com

Ideal Image 339 Fury’s Ferry Rd Martinez 30907 1-800-BE-IDEAL • www.idealimage.com Schedule a FREE Consultation

MEDICAL MASSAGE

Steppingstones to Recovery 2610 Commons Blvd.

Augusta 30909 706-733-1935

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS

Group & Benefits Consultants Inc. 3515 Wheeler Rd, Bldg. C Augusta 30909 706-733-3459 Floss ‘em or lose ‘em! www.groupandbenefits.com

Jason H. Lee, DMD 116 Davis Road Augusta 30907 706-860-4048

LASER SERVICES

FAMILY MEDICINE Urgent MD Augusta: 706-922-6300 Grovetown: 706-434-3500 Thomson: 706-595-7825 Primary Care Rates

HOSPICE Alliance Hospice 3685 Old Petersburg Rd. Suite 145 Augusta 30907 706-447-2461 Hospice Care of America 4314 Belair Frontage Rd. Suite E Augusta 30909 706-447-2626

Medical Massage Stuart Farnell L.M.T. 803-646-1846 jsfarnell@att.net www.FarnellClinic.com

OPHTHALMOLOGY Roger M. Smith, M.D. 820 St. Sebastian Way Suite 5-A Augusta 30901 706-724-3339

OPTICIAN

Parks Pharmacy 437 Georgia Ave. N. Augusta 29841 803-279-7450 www.parkspharmacy.com

SENIOR LIVING Augusta Gardens Senior Living Community 3725 Wheeler Road Augusta 30909 SENIOR LIVING COMMUNITY 706-868-6500 www.augustagardenscommunity.com

SLEEP MEDICINE Sleep Institute of Augusta Bashir Chaudhary, MD 3685 Wheeler Rd, Suite 101 Augusta 30909 706-868-8555

VEIN CARE

Murphy & Robinson Phil Harris 1571 Walton Way Augusta 30904 706-737-2020

...PHARMACY

O P T I C I A N S

PHARMACY Medical Center West Pharmacy 465 North Belair Road Evans 30809 706-854-2424 www.medicalcenterwestpharmacy.com

Vein Specialists of Augusta G. Lionel Zumbro, Jr., MD, FACS, RVT, RPVI 501 Blackburn Dr, Martinez 30907 706-854-8340 www.VeinsAugusta.com

WEIGHT LOSS PHC Weight Loss & Wellness Centers 246B Bobby Jones Expwy Martinez: 706-868-5332 Thomson: 706-597-8667 www.phcweightloss.com

If you’d like your medical practice listed in the Professional Directory, call the Medical Examiner at 706.860.5455

+ 16

AUGUSTA MEDiCAL EXAMINER

JUNE 20, 2014

Lost in the maze?

Why enter in the first place?

We know the way.

EMPLOYEE BENEFITS • COMPLIANCE • WELLNESS • CONSULTING • EXCHANGES • PARTNERSHIPS • TECHNOLOGY

RUSSELL T. HEAD, CBC, CSA-PARTNER • 706-733-3459 • E: RTHEAD@GANDBC.COM • WWW.GROUPANDBENEFITS.COM