Many of us have heard the phrase, “It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon” when it comes to the COVID-19 pandemic. As a second wave of COVID cases begin in states around the country, prevention and testing is needed to support the health of our community as we brace for another possible rise in cases in MN. One of the groups leading the charge for testing is our community paramedics. (more…)
“I never get sick.” “Last year I got a flu shot and still got the flu.” There are many reasons some people choose not to get a flu shot, but in this year of COVID-19 let’s look at skipping a flu shot from another angle.
Imagine you are living about 225 years ago. Smallpox was a pandemic that was circling the globe. It was a destructive, deadly disease that cost the lives of an estimated 300 million people. You have a fever and your body is covered with blistering pox. Children are being orphaned. Whole families are wiped out. There was NO cure. There was no hope because there was no vaccination. (more…)
Patient stories are one of the great things we get out of working at Hennepin Healthcare. This story came in the other day and touched our hearts, as we are sure it will touch yours.
Greetings, HCMC Doctors and Colleagues,
Yesterday, August 19th, 2020 marked the 50th Anniversary of my motorcycle accident. Attached is a recent photo of me at the scene of the accident. Following is my story. If possible, pass this story around.
Thank you, Don Bania (more…)
Dalton Northway loves to water ski. Ending his 4th grade year this past May, his family was up at their lake home when a boat propeller accident turned a great day sour.
Dalton fell under a running boat propeller and suffered serious injuries. Quick thinking, teamwork and emergency and police response expertise fell into motion, and Dalton was airlifted to Hennepin Healthcare’s Level I Pediatric Trauma Center. (more…)
Do you remember when you used to drive to work and then home again? You would get back on the road to do errands or meet friends for a meal? Life was normal and most driving was somewhat predictable. Well, slam on those breaks for the pandemic. (more…)
Much of what we hear about the COVID-19 pandemic and its impact comes from the hospital perspective with particular attention paid to intensive care units. I’d like to share our clinic perspective.
Brandon during his hospitalization at HCMC.
Flying airplanes at heights some people can’t fathom came naturally to Brandon Johnson, but it was a fall from a golf cart that landed the fearless 34-year-old pilot and flight instructor in the hospital – fighting for his life – with a life-changing head injury.
On April 27, 2019 his parents, Mary and Paul, were awakened by police at their home in Ramsey with news every parent dreads.
“They told us Brandon was taken to the hospital after an accident,” said Paul. “We immediately drove to Mercy Hospital in Coon Rapids. That drive seemed like it took forever – like everything was going in slow motion.” (more…)
Early in the pandemic, families were understandably fearful of coming to the clinics for preventative healthcare services such as immunizations. Over the next months, childhood immunization rates began to plummet nationally and in Minnesota, and there was looming risk of not just COVID-19 but vaccine preventable diseases.
A team led by pediatrician, Dr. Dawn Martin, pediatric nurse practitioner, Sheyanga Beecher, and community paramedic/EMS, Amber Brown, recognized the importance of protecting children as the most vulnerable among us. Dr. Martin and her team wanted to make sure that if children could not come to Hennepin Healthcare for essential vaccines, we would go to them. (more…)
