HealthNotes A Health and Wellness Publication from Olmsted Medical Center • www.olmstedmedicalcenter.org
Preventing Occupational Medicine: Workplace Injuries At Olmsted Medical Center (OMC), On the Job for You we believe the best way to reduce workplace injuries is to prevent them A Wide Range of Services in the first place. Through collaboration Occupational medicine experts provide a with OMC’s Occupational Medicine wide range of services to keep employees healthy and productive, such as: and Rehabilitation Services, we can ◾ evaluating an employee’s ability to assist your business with: work by performing physical exams ◾◾ ergonomic evaluations of the job site and other tests ◾◾ injury prevention ◾ diagnosing and treating work-related ◾◾ employee wellness programs health problems ◾◾ post-injury rehabilitation ◾ assessing the work environment for ◾◾ functional capacity evaluations (focus conditions such as noise, lighting, and on major physical tolerance abilities equipment related to musculoskeletal strength, ◾ developing emergency plans in the event endurance, speed, and flexibility). of a disaster or crisis—such as a tornado— Our main objective is to help you or other unforeseen catastrophic events increase your company’s productivity ◾ providing health education and preventive health services, including vaccinations and reduce your lost work time by very day, approximately 9,000 ◾ recognizing substance abuse or mental keeping your employees healthy. American workers are treated in health issues that could affect the emergency departments. About 200 of workplace. E Being safe and well these workers are hospitalized. For employees at work is as valuable and employers, on-the-job health problems Employees and Employers: What You Can Do to employers as it is can have medical, legal, and financial costs. To stay safe on the job, consider these ideas: to employees. OMC’s These include lost work time, decreased ◾ If you are an employee, realize that productivity, and reduced quality of life. workplace accidents can happen. Follow occupational medicine To address these issues, employers and accepted safe work practices at your program can help. Call employees turn to occupational medicine company. Discuss any safety concerns 507.292.7186 for more experts. These healthcare providers specialize you have with your supervisor. information. in preventing and managing occupational ◾ If you are an employer, train your injury, illness, and disability. Occupational employees about safe work practices. medicine experts enhance workers’ health Develop an injury and illness prevention through clinical care, preventive medicine, program. In addition, you may want disability management, and education. to consult an occupational medicine They work with people from public specialist if you need help managing and private companies of all sizes and in all your employees’ health and performance. industries. These include—but are not limited Olmsted Medical Center offers these to—construction, healthcare, manufacturing, services, including treatment and banking, education, and transportation. rehabilitation for injured employees.
INSIDE: Electronic Health Records | Overcome Bladder Problems | Healthy Eating for Less SPRING 2012 Electronic Health Records Enhance Your Care
to the same information. This can Safe Patient Portal speed up treatment, reduce errors, and The use of an EHR makes it possible improve patient outcomes. for patients and their healthcare team members to share information Better Efficiency, Fewer Errors electronically whenever it is most For the past 11 years, OMC has used convenient for patients. This is an EHR in its outpatient offices. By sometimes referred to as Meaningful 2013, an EHR will be used throughout Use. OMC is the only healthcare the hospital as well, making it easier for organization in Rochester that met all departments to share information. federal objectives for this type of secure If you undergo back surgery, health information exchange in 2011. for example, a nurse, dietitian, and OMC patients can directly benefit from physical therapist will all participate this by using our secure online portal, in your recovery. “It can be tough if where they can begin managing their everyone is grabbing for the same healthcare and paying their bills online. In hard-copy chart,” explains Linda the not-too-distant future, this portal will Williams, MD, OMC’s chief medical allow patients to request copies of their information officer. personal medical records and securely Sharing a paper file is even harder access personal medical information for during an emergency. But an EHR themselves and their dependents. enables a radiologist to quickly send orget being on the same page. X-ray results to a surgeon, who can For the best medical care, you access all past test results, saving the F want all your providers on the time and cost of performing a test again. same screen. EHRs also help reduce errors. With Olmsted Medical Center (OMC) is an EHR, for example, “a pharmacist replacing its remaining paper patient can easily understand a typewritten files with electronic health records prescription without wondering if a (EHR). These secure digital documents zero should be the letter ‘O,’ ” says Sue give all your healthcare providers access Schuett, OMC’s chief information officer.
Your Healthcare on Your Time As of January 2012, nearly 4,000 Olmsted Medical Center (OMC) patients had OMC’s Web-based patient activated their free online clinical services account. More than 1,000 people portal, launched in July 2011, were using our online financial services, including electronic bill pay. is increasingly becoming the Currently you can request appointments, update your personal platform on which healthcare information OMC’s Internal Medicine demographic information, view account statements, make payments online, is shared. Don’t get left out! Call department can help address and receive summaries of your visits with OMC caregivers. In 2012, we plan 507.287.2780 to start using its expanding the symptoms and management to make even more services available to you online, including: clinical tools and resources. Or if you’re of age-related dementia, including ◾◾ requesting a copy of your medical records an OMC guarantor (responsible for a Alzheimer’s disease. Call ◾◾ getting lab and radiology results delivered to your secure portal inbox patient financial account), visit 507.292.7185 to learn more. ◾◾ using an online symptom assessment tool to help you understand what www.olmstedmedicalcenter.org to your medical symptoms could mean check out our online financial tools. ◾◾ requesting a history of your—or a dependent’s—immunization history.
2 SPRING 2012 Healthnotes Save the Date! Spring Solutions Seminar Tuesday, May 1 Somerby Golf Club—Byron, MN Join Srdan Babovic, MD, and his staff from Olmsted Medical Center’s Plastic Surgery department for a free seminar featuring noninvasive body reshaping procedures. Patients will be present to share their experiences. To join us, please reserve your seat by Friday, April 22. Call 507.529.6740 for more details.
Don’t Let Bladder Problems Limit Your Life
ake a list of your 10 closest The simplest treatment? Kegel female friends. If they’re like exercises. To do them, squeeze M most women in the U.S., five the muscles you’d use to stop the of them have some degree of urinary flow of urine. Hold for three counts. incontinence. Relax for three counts. Do this exercise These issues can be difficult to in sets of 10, three times a day. After discuss with your healthcare providers, six to eight weeks, stronger pelvic let alone your pals. They can make you muscles will help prevent urine feel isolated and keep you from the leakage. New Early Hours at OMC— activities you enjoy. But talking with It is important not to practice Rochester Southeast your healthcare team is the first step in this by starting and stopping the In response to patients’ desire for finding relief. Use the following facts on flow of urine, as this can lead to earlier access to some services at urinary incontinence as a springboard urinary tract infections. Often times it OMC’s Rochester Southeast clinic, for your discussion. is very difficult to activate the correct lab testing and mammography Urinary incontinence has become pelvic floor muscles to do a Kegel. appointments are now available as more common in recent years. Women Physical therapy can help facilitate early as 7:00 AM, Monday through are nearly four times as likely as men to the proper contraction needed to have trouble controlling their bladders. stop incontinence. Friday, at that clinic, located at And it’s not just a problem after Lifestyle changes such as losing 210 Ninth Street SE in Rochester. menopause. Younger women often leak excess weight, avoiding alcohol, and Additional early morning healthcare urine when they cough, laugh, not lifting heavy objects may also help. services at this location soon may or exercise. Surgery is an option in some cases. become available. OMC’s second Rochester outpatient clinic, located at 5067 55th Street NW, is also open Many of the solutions to bladder problems are relatively simple things to patients from 7:00 AM – 7:00 PM, you can do on your own. Have more questions or think you’d like to Monday through Friday. talk with a rehabilitation therapist about the issue? Call 507.292.7222.
www.olmstedmedicalcenter.org 3 OMC Regional Foundation Nonprofit Org 210 Ninth Street SE U.S. Postage Rochester, MN 55904 PAID HealthNotes OMC Regional Postmaster: Please deliver between March 19 and 23. Foundation Roy A. Yawn, MD David E. Westgard, MD President Chief Medical Officer
Tim W. Weir Stacey M. Vanden Heuvel Chief Executive Officer Vice President, Marketing & Philanthropy
HealthNotes is published four times a year by Olmsted Medical Center and OMC Regional Foundation. HealthNotes is a service to educate people about subjects pertinent to their health, not a substitute for consultation with a healthcare provider. Please call OMC Regional Foundation at 507.292.7202 or e-mail [email protected] with any questions or comments. If you wish to be removed from the mailing list that receives HealthNotes, please write to OMC Regional Foundation, 210 Ninth Street SE, Rochester, MN 55904.
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www.olmstedmedicalcenter.org Recipe: Black Bean and Healthy Eating Doesn’t Have Corn Soup 15 oz. can black beans, drained and rinsed to Be Expensive 14½ oz. can low-sodium Mexican stewed tomatoes, undrained our money or your health? When it 14½ oz. can low-sodium diced tomatoes, undrained comes to nutrition, sometimes it can 11 oz. frozen whole-kernel corn Yseem like a choice between the two. 4 green onions, sliced Researchers recently calculated the 1 small green pepper, sliced cost of following the government’s dietary 4 ribs celery, diced guidelines in one metropolitan area. They 3 tbsp. chili powder found that eating the right foods, such as 1 tsp. ground cumin 1 garlic clove, minced vegetables and whole grains, was more expensive than loading up on sugar and Directions saturated fat. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker. But don’t turn to the dollar menu just Cover and cook on high for five to six hours. yet. It’s still possible to eat well without
Yield: 8 servings breaking the bank. Here’s how: ◾ Make a meal plan. Each week, survey Each serving provides: Calories 120, Total fat your pantry, scope out coupons, and 2 g, Saturated fat 0 g, Cholesterol 0 mg, Sodium scour grocery store circulars. Look for tomatoes in a pot on your front porch, 282 mg, Total carbohydrate 23 g, Dietary fiber recipes using ingredients that are on sale or herbs in indoor containers. 7 g, Sugars 7 g, Protein 6 g or that you already have, and plot out ◾ Cut to it. Whole produce often costs
Source: Centers for Disease Control and healthy dishes for each meal. Then make much less than precut. Chop your Prevention, Fruits and Veggies: More Matters a list—and stick to it. fruits and vegetables at home instead. ◾ Savor the season. Fruits and vegetables Also steer clear of single-serving packs picked at their prime are less expensive. and bagged salads—you’ll pay more Search farmers markets for fresh, for the packaging. reasonably priced produce. ◾ Learn to love legumes. Kidney, ◾ Grow your own. Spring is the best time garbanzo, or black beans pack a to plant seeds or seedlings. Even if you powerful protein punch for less money don’t have space for a garden, you can than meat, and without the saturated grow lettuce in a window box, cherry fat. Buy them dried or canned.
OMC’s patient education dietitians can help you create and follow a strategy for healthy eating that doesn’t break the bank. Call 507.288.3443, extension 2593, to get started!