Clinical care – Here for Life

Acupuncture and acupressure during pregnancy; decreasing pain and stress, improving birth outcomes

November 11, 2020

A woman’s body goes through so many changes during pregnancy. Quality and restful sleep become more difficult to obtain. Back and hip pain become a regular struggle. Moods can be joyful and exciting one day, then irritable and weepy the next. For many women, the inevitable common symptoms arise as well, such as nausea and vomiting, loss of appetite, and fatigue. While most women have regular appointments with their OB/Gyn or midwife to address these concerns, few are aware that there is another avenue of care that can be a great compliment to standard medical care – acupuncture and Chinese medicine. (more…)

The closest to being cared for, is to care for someone else

November 5, 2020

November is National Home Health Care Month, a time to celebrate the practice of home care and all of the individuals who make it possible, from the patients who inspire us to the caregivers who serve them. Once such caregiver is Pam Ruis.

Pam provides health care to our patients wherever they call home. Home health care includes a range of medical, social, assistive and other services when patients need follow-up care after a hospital visit or requires long-term care. (more…)

Children injured in ATV accidents on the rise

October 1, 2020

The summer of 2020 was unique for many reasons – and unfortunately one of them was due to an increased number of all-terrain vehicle (ATV) accidents reported in children.

“We’ve seen at least six children under the age of 17 requiring hospital admission for ATV-related accidents since May,” explains Dr. Stephen Smith, an emergency physician at Hennepin Healthcare. “These injuries are preventable, and we want to remind parents to put safety first when allowing their kids to ride on or drive these fast-moving vehicles.” (more…)

Your flu shot can protect everyone

September 21, 2020

“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…)

Nine year old water skier’s leg saved in a boat propeller accident

August 14, 20201

Dalton Northway loves to water ski. Ending his 4^th 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…)

COVID-19 Pandemic: Our Richfield Clinic Experience

July 29, 2020

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.

(more…)

Pediatric Vaccine Mobile serves children in the community during the pandemic

July 23, 2020

Hennepin Healthcare staff delivers exceptional care without exception, and this has remained true even during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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…)

Be aware of the dangers of carbon monoxide and boating this summer. Be safe.

July 2, 2020

The Niblett family has a lot to be thankful for. Living on beautiful Lake Geneva in Alexandria, MN, they spend a lot of time on the water. Michaela Niblett, mom of five young Nibletts, calls her kids ‘little fishes’. Their surf boat is like a second home and the kids and their friends often swim behind the boat. The swim platform is easy to hang on to and you can sit and rest on the platform to take a little break. (more…)