Where caring counts. Feel the difference.
February 2010
Osteoporosis
covered by most insurances with physician orders. Call (360) 427-9590, option 3 to schedule an appointment.
DEXA Sheds Light on Osteoporosis Risks C
oncerned about the risk of developing osteoporosis? Mason General Hospital offers a new solution: a Discovery bone densitometry system, or DEXA, to aid its bone health and wellness assessments for men and women. Osteoporosis is a growing healthcare crisis affecting millions of women and men, worldwide. The healthcare costs associated with osteoporosis are staggering, and the effect on someone’s quality of life can be devastating. Only about 10% of women over the age of 65 have normal bone mass. Seventy-seven percent of American women with osteoporosis are undiagnosed, and therefore, untreated. Fortunately, osteoporosis is detectable and treatable, and testing is safe and non-invasive. DEXA provides spine and hip results in minutes. High-resolution vertebral fracture assessments allow early detection of vertebral fractures, saving patients from debilitating and life-threatening spine and hip fractures in later life. Mason General began screening patients with this new technology in January. In order to schedule a DEXA screening, patients need an order from their physician. To make an appointment with your physician’s order, call Mason General’s Diagnostic Imaging Department at (360) 427-9590, option 3. DEXA appointments may be scheduled to coincide with mammogram appointments. Individuals should talk to their providers to determine their risk factors and the need or frequency to screen. ST ON
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claims 60,000 lives annually—more than breast and cervical cancers combined. “This silent disease decreases bone mass and weakens bone architecture, which increases fracture risks,” said Karry Trout, RT, (RM) at MGH. Estimates indicate more than 10 million American men and women have osteoporosis. An additional 33.6 million have low hip-bone density. Who is most at risk? About one out of every two Caucasian women will experience an osteoporosis-related fracture at some point in her lifetime. So will approximately one in five men. Major risk factors include being age 65 and over, vertebral compression fractures, family history, and long-time use of steroids. Fortunately, there are ways to prevent osteoporosis: a healthy intake of calcium and vitamin D, along with exercise, and less smoking, caffeine, and alcohol intake. Medical treatments focus on increasing bone mass, stopping or reversing bone loss, stimulating bone formation, and reducing osteoporotic fractures. “Regardless of clinical risk factors, all women aged 65 and older, as well as men aged 70 and older should be screened for osteoporosis,” Trout said. Others who should also be screened include younger, postmenopausal women, and men aged 50 to 69 with concerns about their individual clinical risk factors. Osteoporosis most often causes fractures in hips, wrists, and the spine, leading to more than 432,000 annual hospital admissions in the United States. “As the country ages, these numbers may double or triple by the year 2040,” Trout said.
Vol. 26 No. 1
Karry Trout, RT (RM), and mammographer at MGH’s Diagnostic Imaging Department, assists a patient undergoing a scan with the hospital’s new DEXA machine which measures bone density and helps detect osteoporosis in men and women.
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Osteoporosis: A Silent Killer
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Hospital Moves Forward with Facility Master Plan Improvements
With a strong financial position and an extremely favorable climate for construction, MGH is moving forward on an estimated $33 million project that will be financed by operating revenues and will not require a taxpayer bond. The plan calls for new surgical facilities, expanding and modernizing the emergency department, and improving patient rooms and waiting areas. Design and bidding documents are expected to be complete in late 2010 to early 2011, and construction should begin in early 2011.
Facility Master Plan Q &A
Why are new surgical facilities needed? One of the most important services the hospital provides to residents of the area is a convenient, high quality surgical program. The hospital currently has three operating rooms, two of them date back to the original building that was completed in 1968, and the third was added in 1992. Larger operating rooms, configured for new technology and improved recovery and waiting areas, are needed to support current and future demands, particularly for outpatient surgery. Continued on page 10…