Healthy Aging: September 2016

A PublicAtion from monmouth medical center, southern campus

HEALTHY AGING September 2016

A NEW IDEA IN

SeNIOr CAre tHe prOStAte WHAT MEN MUST KNOW HealthyAging.0916.5.indd 1

GOOD RIDDANCE TO SHINGLES! VOLUNTEER TO STAY SHARP PROTECT YOUR GRANDKIDS 8/25/16 4:29 PM

WElcomE lEttEr ith each edition of Healthy Aging I have been writing to you about the development of our Geriatrics Institute as we complete all of the phases of its development. I’m very excited to share that the final stages of construction are nearly complete. We plan to open to the public next month.

Whether we meet our patients in the Geriatric Emergency Medicine (GEM) Unit in our Emergency Department, in our Acute Care for the Elderly (ACE) Inpatient Unit or in our newest area—the outpatient Geriatrics Institute—our institute will be able to offer a multifaceted approach to the care of older adults in our community focused on wellness and independent function.

Our new geriatric outpatient practice can help answer many questions you may have about your health: n “Am I at risk for a fall or a hip fracture?” n “Do I have all of the proper documents in place that my family and I might need if I suffered from a sudden and serious illness?” n “Am I eating the right foods?” n “How can I improve my hearing?” n “How does my memory stack up against a group of my peers?” n “Do I really need all of the medication I am taking?”

A complete geriatric assessment on an outpatient basis can help to answer these and, of course, many other questions or concerns you may have about your own individual health. Our interdisciplinary team approach rapidly assesses common target areas and then comprehensively focuses on more specific areas of concern.

As children focus this season on getting back to school after a relaxing summer, why not focus on learning a little more about you?

As always, please feel free to email me at Jessica.Israel@rwjbh.org with any questions or ideas. And, if you find yourself on campus for a tour of our new space, feel free to stop in and say hello.

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Jessica l. Israel, m.D. Regional Director for Geriatrics and Palliative Care Monmouth Medical Center and Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus

WhEn you’rE on granDParEnt Duty…

Here’s Help in keeping kids safe.

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o you know about “button batteries?” They’re powerful, coinsized batteries found in many of today’s electronic devices, and swallowing them sends 2,800 U.S. children to the emergency room each year. According to Safe Kids Worldwide, an injury-prevention group, the number of button-battery-related deaths or serious injuries has increased ninefold in the last decade.

Grandparents were once parents, of course, but memories grow dim, and new dangers—like button batteries—have appeared since your children were small. Now you can brush up on ways to protect the young ones in your charge.

Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus (MMCSC), a designated Safe Kids coalition through the Monmouth & Ocean Chapter, provides informative sessions right here in Lakewood.

At these events, you’ll learn some of the latest evidence-based information about car seats and their proper installation, sports clinics to prevent or minimize playing-field injuries and other areas of child protection in which knowledge keeps improving.

Next up is a “Lunch and Learn” session at The Center for Healthy Living, 198 Prospect St. in Lakewood, at noon on Wednesday, Sept.

21. Please register in advance by calling 1.888.724.7123. Meanwhile, keep lithium battery-operated devices or loose batteries where young children can’t get at them. (Want to program the National Battery Ingestion Hotline into your phone? It’s 202.625.3333.)

Hear ye! Hear ye! is it time to get tHose ears cHecked? recent New York Times op-ed piece concluded with an emotional moment in a phone call between spouses. One partner declared undying love. The other gave a telling reply.

“What?” she said.

Hearing problems can make you feel you’re missing a part of life—because you are. Fortunately, there’s help.

Audiology Services at Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, fall under the Rehabilitation and Occupational Therapy team.

There you’ll find Sue Ellen Boyer, Au.D., a clinical audiologist—a hearing and balance specialist. She works with a diverse range of patients, but mostly seniors.

Audiologists specialize in the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of both hearing and balance disorders. As part of the Rehabilitative and Occupational Health team, Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, audiologists provide a full spectrum of hearing and vestibular services. These include full audiological evaluations, assessments of middle-ear function, vestibular (balance) assessments, occupational hearing screenings, computerized dynamic posturography (a noninvasive method of balance testing), monitoring of ototoxicity (chemical-related inner-ear damage), tympanometry (a middle-ear test) and more.

A physician’s prescription is required; some insurance plans will also require a referral. to schedule an appointment, call 732.942.5921.

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A new idea in elder care Starting in OCtOBEr, thE gEriatriCS inStitutE WiLL PiOnEEr a truLy unifiEd aPPrOaCh tO kEEPing SEniOrS hEaLthy.

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aving the same staff treat both inpatients and outpatients is a notion that seems unusual until it suddenly seems obvious. After all, patients don’t come in permanent boxes with “in” and “out” labels. Why should clinicians?

That’s the idea behind the Geriatrics Institute at Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, which debuts next month. It marries the existing 18-bed Acute Care for Elders (ACE) Inpatient Unit and Geriatric Emergency Medicine (GEM) Unit with a diverse outpatient program and aggressive community education.

The goal? High-quality, safe, seamless care that returns seniors promptly to active good health— and helps them keep it.

To learn more, Healthy Joan Wills Jessica L. Israel, M.D. Aging spoke with Jessica L. Israel, M.D., regional director for Geriatrics and Palliative Care; and Joan Wills, regional assistant vice president: The Geriatrics Institute has been called the first of its kind. What makes it special?

ISRAEL: The way different types of care—inpatient, outpatient, ER and community education—are managed by the same team in varied settings. That fosters good communication and helps make sure no one falls through the cracks. And it makes things simpler for seniors.

WILLS: The ACE unit and the outpatient unit are both on the third floor; the social worker who sees you as an inpatient will also be a resource when you’re an outpatient. The health educator you see in the community will also help when you’re hospitalized. And there’s the team concept. Board-certified geriatricians work with nurses who get special education in geriatrics. Even our patient care associates—once known as nurses’ aides—receive special geriatrics instruction.

What do outpatient services include?

WILLS: Regular medical care from a geriatrician; nutritional guidance; rehabilitation; physical and occupational therapy; speech therapy and audiology.

We’re pairing geriatric outpatient services with rehab services. So across the hall from the Geriatrics offices there are the rehab medicine offices and a physical therapy gym.

With treadmills and exercise bikes?

WILLS: Yes. But there’s also an area set up like a home kitchen. We want to be sure a patient can reach into the refrigerator and get out the milk to put into tea she’s boiling on the stove—and do other basic things that are critical to independence.

ISRAEL: Geriatrics is all about taking a step back and looking at things differently. We can treat pneumonia, high blood pressure, etc. But it’s not as meaningful unless we ensure that with that medical care the patient can be independent and function at his or her best.

Are the institute’s services covered by Medicare and most health insurance?

WILLS: Yes. And you needn’t live in Ocean County.

Just be 65 or older.

How does one use the Geriatrics Institute?

WILLS: You can make us your home for primary care and all the specialty care you need—that’s one way. But you need not give up your current doctor. If you prefer, we can work with him or her as consultants, making our facilities available as needed, reviewing your medications and providing expertise on geriatric issues such as memory loss, bone health and balance.

To learn more about the Geriatrics Institute or MMCSC’s extensive programs and services offered to seniors, call 732.886.4731.

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A grateful patient For this Lakewood resident, the pain oF shingLes was intense. But thanks to First-rate treatment, she’s FeeLing much Better today.

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etter Health member Bernadette DeFalco, 78, could not be more enthusiastic about the outstanding service she received in the Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus (MMCSC), Emergency Department. On the day after Easter she was in New York caring for her daughter, who had just undergone surgery for a C6 and C7 disc herniation, when she started to feel pain radiating from her neck down her arm. She teased her daughter that she had “caught” the pain from her, but as the day went on she knew Bernadette DeFalco

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it was no joke. She realized she needed to be home in Lakewood, and by the next day her husband of 58 years, Joe, was driving her to the Emergency Department (ED) at MMCSC. When Bernadette arrived in the hospital in immense pain she was ushered to an ED room and a medical workup began immediately. An X-ray was done to make sure the pain wasn’t related to her bones, but ultimately the physician’s initial thought was proved correct and Bernadette was diagnosed with shingles, a viral infection that causes a painful rash. Bernadette recalls that the pain felt as though she was being hammered from the inside out from her shoulder to her thumb. Although she has given birth to five daughters and endured three open-heart surgeries, Bernadette says that shingles was by far the worst pain she’s ever had. It was excruciating—but she feels she couldn’t have asked for a better place to be than MMCSC. “From the moment I checked in at the reception desk to the time I was discharged, everyone was wonderful,” Bernadette says. “I felt as though my own kids or grandkids were caring for me, making sure I was comfortable and informed during the entire process.

When you’re in the hospital feeling sick and afraid, it makes a big difference to have a friendly face and a caring smile at all times.”

After several weeks of recovery, Bernadette is back on her feet playing bocce, rummy and mahjong in the clubhouse at The Fairways. She recognizes that this is not the case for many shingles sufferers and thanks MMCSC for the care she received while in the hospital, as it has allowed her to get back to her active lifestyle. Bernadette plans to continue her relationship with MMCSC by using its outpatient services such as blood draw and the newly renovated Jacqueline M. Wilentz Breast Center for her next mammogram.

“I’ve seen a large change in this hospital just within the past year,” says Bernadette. “I’m very happy with the service I received and I’m grateful for the center’s proximity to my home. I have been and will continue to be recommending Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, to all of my friends because I know they will be treated there with the same dignity and respect I was given during a very scary time.”

For more information on the MMCSC Emergency Department, call 732.886.4525.

Act today to minimize your risk of shingles.

TV commercials may not always reveal the whole truth, but when they tell you shingles hurts, they hit a bull’seye. Shingles forms a blistering rash that develops on one side of the face or body. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it affects one in three Americans, and about one-half of all cases occur in men and women age 60 or older. If you’ve had chickenpox, the virus that causes shingles—varicella zoster—is already in your system.

As the accompanying article shows, the clinicians at Monmouth Medical

Center, Southern Campus (MMCSC), are ready to provide treatment for shingles that is both effective and compassionate. But better yet is to keep from getting shingles in the first place. MMCSC internist Eva Mehta, D.O., reports that Zostavax—a vaccine approved by the Food and Drug Administration—can cut your chances of developing the condition by 61 percent.

This single-dose vaccine is given at your doctor’s office or pharmacy. To learn more, ask your primary care provider. For a referral to a primary care physician, call 888.724.7123.

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The joy of helping

BUSY VOLUNTEERS AT MONMOUTH MEDICAL CENTER, SOUTHERN CAMPUS, MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE IN PATIENTS’ LIVES—AND IN THEIR OWN.

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Ed and Mary Blackford

Is volunteering for you?

People who help out at Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus (MMCSC), stay sharp, enjoy social contact and know that their time and effort really make a difference. Volunteer opportunities are available at MMCSC, plus many exciting volunteer positions are available at one of the hospital’s three Thrift Shops in Lakewood, Jackson and Lakehurst. To sign up or learn more, call 732.886.4523.

d Blackford, 68, is a reliable and dedicated volunteer who provides great support for the Emergency Department staff. From 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. each Friday, he brings patients into the ED and gets them settled after they’ve seen a triage nurse. Ed makes sure that each patient is comfortable and well informed about the next steps in his or her treatment.

“I try to make them feel relaxed and comfortable,” he says. “I get a good feeling when I help people.”

Blackford, a Toms River resident, has been volunteering since his retirement in 2011 as an insurance company’s loss-prevention specialist. His wife, Mary, gets a good feeling too. Also, 68, she puts in the same weekly shift on one of the hospital floors, picking up breakfast trays, replenishing water pitchers, filling empty glove boxes and greeting patients with a smile. After 30 years as a nurse at Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus (MMCSC), she chose to spend some of her retired years providing patient support in other ways.

“I can now visit with patients in ways I never had time for as a nurse,” she says. “I’ll get them a cup of tea and sometimes you’d think I was giving them a million dollars.”

Jackson resident Pat O’Connor, 80, a retired commercial airline pilot, enjoys volunteering in the pharmacy and the Volunteer Resource Center at MMCSC. Many years ago he read in the newspaper that the hospital needed volunteers, and he was glad he decided to donate his time when compulsory retirement brought him down Pat O’Connor from the skies.

“My attitude is, stay as active as you can, and don’t sit around and let yourself get old,” he says.

Ed, Mary and Pat are true blessings the hospital can count on, and they add value to the superior care provided at MMCSC. Volunteers play an integral part in achieving MMCSC’s mission of providing high-quality and compassionate care.

“Every age group is represented among the hospital’s 350 volunteers,” says Donna Salin, director, Volunteer Services. “However, retired people make up the largest share. They appreciate that we need them and they enjoy the social contact.”

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Doctor

Ask the

What is BPH?

A question for MukArAM GAzi, M.D., A boArD-certifieD uroloGist At MonMouth MeDicAl center, southern cAMpus. t’s benign prostatic hyperplasia, a common, noncancerous condition in which the prostate gland is enlarged. Normally walnut-sized, this gland in men produces semen, the fluid that transports sperm. It sits below the bladder and surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body. An enlarged prostate can constrict the urethra and cause symptoms including frequent urination and difficulty urinating. National Institutes of Health data show that more than 50 percent of men in their 60s and as many as 90 percent in their 70s and 80s have symptoms of BPH, which include: n An often recurring sudden urge to urinate. n An increase in urination frequency, especially at night. n A weak or interrupted urinary stream. n Difficulty starting and stopping urination. n Dribbling or leaking of urine. n Inability to completely empty the bladder.

BPH is often first diagnosed in a routine digital rec-

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COMMUNITY CALENDAR Here are some upcoming events of interest to seniors:

LUNCH & LEARN: KEEPING YOUR GRANDKIDS SAFE AND HAPPY WHILE IN YOUR CARE

Wednesday, September 21 Noon–2 p.m.

Center for Healthy Living, 198 Prospect St., Lakewood Current trends in child safety in the home, outdoors and on the road.

Presented by MMCSC and Safe Kids Monmouth/Ocean Counties. To register, call the RWJBarnabas Health LINK at 1.888.724.7123.

A MATTER OF BALANCE

Tuesdays, September 27– November 15 10 a.m.–noon Center for Healthy Living, 198 Prospect St., Lakewood This eight-week series is

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designed to reduce the fear of falling and increase activity levels. Participants are taught simple exercises to increase strength and balance, and learn (1) to set realistic goals to increase activity, and (2) to change their environment to reduce fall risk factors. To register, call the RWJBarnabas Health LINK at 1.888.724.7123 FREE BREAST CANCER SCREENING AND EDUCATION PROGRAM

Thursday, September 29 2–5 p.m.

Jacqueline M. Wilentz Breast Center at Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, 600 River Ave., Lakewood The Wilentz Center is featuring screening mammograms with same-day mammogram read for women. The program will also feature an assessment for the High-Risk Cancer Program, breast health education,

tal exam. Doctors may also order a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood test to rule out other causes for these symptoms including prostatitis (infection of the prostate) and prostate cancer. The patient may need a cystoscopy (in which a thin lighted tube is inserted into the urethra to look for abnormalities) and a UroFlow test (a full-bladder study to determine the urine flow rate) to determine the extent of the enlargement and obstruction.

Men who have symptomatic BPH will eventually require medical intervention. BPH can be treated with daily medications, but some men find this burdensome.

For some, a minimally invasive treatment such as transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT) or transurethral needle ablation (TUNA) or surgery is the best option.

Untreated BPH can lead to permanent damage to the bladder or kidneys. For more information or to schedule an appointment with Dr. Gazi, call the RWJBarnabas Health LINK at 1.888.724.7123.

refreshments, jewelry, chair massages and giveaways.

For an appointment, call 732.923.6509. This program is limited to 50 screening appointments, so early registration is suggested.

ALL LEVELS YOGA FOR THE ACTIVE ADULT

(Better Health Members ONLY) Fridays, September 30– November 18 11:45 a.m.–12:45 p.m.

Center for Healthy Living, 198 Prospect St., Lakewood Clear instruction will be given in breathing, warmup technique and posture flow. New students will develop body awareness, posture alignment and core strength in basic poses, while experienced students are encouraged to explore challenging variations in familiar postures. Please bring a yoga mat. To register, call 1.888.724.7123.

LUNCH & LEARN WITH A BREAST SURGEON: DEBUNKING THE MYTHS OF BREAST CANCER

Wednesday, October 26 11:30 a.m.

Monmouth Medical Center, Southern Campus, 600 River Ave., Lakewood In honor of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, in this interactive presentation led by Sumy H. Chang, M.D., attendees will discuss myths and important facts of breast care.

Immediately afterward, a separate mammogram event with giveaways and other fun surprises will be held for women who are due for their annual screening mammogram.

The event will be held on the Patio at MMCSC with the mammograms held in the Jacqueline M. Wilentz Breast Center. Registration is required by calling 1.888.724.7123.

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BREAST CANCER AWARENESS MONTH

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