In 2018, two million people in the US suffered from an opioid use disorder and more than 130 people died every day from opioid-related drug overdoses. This remains an ongoing problem and as a result, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) has announced a plan to combat the opioid crisis. This plan focuses on prioritizing the advancement of better practices for pain management and improving access to these therapies and services. (more…)
Because of a shortage of emergency medical technicians (EMTs) and paramedics on a state and national level, Hennepin EMS has had to get creative to recruit. The new Hennepin EMS Paramedic Training Program has recruited 24 EMTs (the path to becoming a paramedic starts as an EMT), which started in mid-December, to embark on the rigorous seven month training program. (more…)
Front line workers are overwhelmed treating our COVID afflicted patients. But it’s not just doctors and nurses that are on the front line. Assistants, environmental services and many other specialists are busy treating these patients. Transportation is moving them from one area to the next. And speech-language pathologists (SLPs) are also right there in the thick of things. (more…)
The information here is about the Pfizer and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines. These are also called “mRNA” vaccines.
For most people, getting the COVID-19 vaccine as soon as possible is the safest choice. However, trials testing the vaccine in pregnant and breastfeeding individuals have not been completed.
This information will help you to make an informed choice about whether to get the COVID-19 vaccine while you are pregnant, trying to get pregnant, or are breastfeeding.
You have two options:
Kenneth J. Doka, PhD, MDiv encourages us to practice the 3 C’s during the holiday season: Choose, Communicate, Compromise. Choose what you want to do this holiday, where you want to be. With a pandemic around us, choosing is even more important. Saying no to larger family gatherings can be painful and is a loss we also grieve. How will we choose to celebrate, keep distance and remain safe? (more…)
COVID-19 is hitting many specialties at Hennepin Healthcare. Physical therapists, especially those who specialize in neuro-therapy, are seeing a lot of patients who are recovering from this new and foul virus. Megan Meyer, a physical therapist who practices in our Clinic & Specialty Center, is one of those providers.
One assumption could be that most of Megan’s patients are elderly with pre-existing conditions, but that is not the case. Explains Megan, “Most of my patients are between the ages of 40 and 70, and yes, some do have pre-existing conditions, but many do not”. (more…)
The friendliest barber in town is also one of the nicest transplant patients you’ll ever meet. He’s Robert A. Nabors, owner of Nabors Cuts in Maplewood. His journey with end-stage renal disease and going through two kidney transplant surgeries may have made anyone else discouraged, but he remains grateful – and his positive attitude is infectious, even as he recovers from a COVID-19 infection.
“I try to stay positive on my health outlook because I know what the other side looks like,” he said.
As part of his post-transplant care, Nabors takes anti-rejection medication daily and has labs drawn monthly at Hennepin Healthcare’s Kidney Transplant Center to monitor his kidney function. (more…)
November 20, 2020 is the 61st anniversary of the World’s Children’s Day, which commemorates the Declaration of the Rights of the Child that passed by the United Nations (UN) General Assembly on November 20, 1959. The rights of children have evolved and transformed since that historic day. In 1989, the UN put in place the Convention on the Rights of the Child to expand upon the Declaration and formulate a series of specific provisions further define these rights. They fall into three pillars: (more…)
