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♦ FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2006
Critical conditions; Preparing for end-of-life care
Special to the Journal
Rapid advancements in
medicine and technology
have helped improve tre
mendously the quality of
our lives. Yet, they pose
a curious question to our
society: how are we to deal
with health care at the end
of life?
Many people face agoniz
ing decisions regarding med
ical care for loved ones at
the end of life. Each of us
has known or heard of some
one whose life was prolonged
beyond its natural end.
For some, it was their
choice to be kept alive as
long as possible. For others,
it was against their wishes.
Unfortunately, it is at a
| I
Margie Cox,
Director of
Volunteer
Services
for Houston
Healthcare,
from left,
Ethel
Edwards,
Joyce
Griffin,
Marjorie
Daniel,
and Evelyn
Davis.
Submitted
Small steps, big rewards;
Preventing type 2 diabetes
Special to the Journal
Thousands of Georgians
are at risk for developing
Type 2 diabetes, a serious
and costly disease that is
becoming increasingly com
mon throughout the state.
Diabetes is a serious illness
that can cause end stage kid
ney disease, blindness, heart
disease, stroke, hyperten
sion, impotence and ampu
tations.
The good news is that Type
2 diabetes can be prevented
by eating less and moving
more.
According to the American
Diabetes Association, before
people develop Type 2 dia
betes, they almost always
have prediabetes, a condi
tion where blood glucose lev
els are higher than normal
but not yet high enough to
be diagnosed as diabetes. An
estimated 40 million people
have prediabetes, though
many are unaware they have
the condition since it usually
shows no symptoms.
“If you are over the age of
45 and overweight, you need
your blood sugar checked,”
says Vicky Alexander, RN,
FNF) Disease Management
Coordinator at Houston
Healthcare. “Knowing you
are at risk for developing
Type 2 diabetes can be a life
saving wake-up call.”
Besides being overweight,
other prediabetic risk fac
tors include:
■ Physical inactivity
■ Unhealthy eating hab
its
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time when people should
have the most control over
their lives that they have
the least.
The vast majority of peo
ple have not made their deci
sions about end-of-life care
known through a living will
or durable healthcare power
of attorney document. Often
it is left up to loved ones,
physicians and other care
givers who are unaware of
a dying person’s wishes to
make end-of-life decisions
for them.
Final health care decisions
cannot be honored if they
are not known.
“Most people are uncom
fortable talking about
death,” says Evelyn Hughes,
Patient Representative at
■ High blood pressure
■ Low HDL, or “good”
cholesterol, and high triglyc
erides
■ A family history of the
disease
■ A history of gestational
diabetes or of giving birth to
a baby weighing more than
nine pounds
■ Being of African-
American, Hispanic/Latino,
Native American or Asian/
Pacific Islander descent
Studies show that people
who are prediabetic can pre
vent or delay the onset of
developing Type 2 diabetes
by increasing their physical
activity and eating a low
fat, low-sugar, high-fiber
diet. “Inactivity is one of the
most important risk factors
for Type 2 diabetes and may
be to blame for half of all
cases,” comments Alexander.
“Exercise and changing your
diet can prevent the progres
sion of the disease and may
even bring your glucose lev
els back to normal.”
Through its award-win
ning Diabetes Management
Program, Houston
Healthcare offers a free edu
cational seminar on how to
prevent or delay Type 2 dia
betes. Taught by Certified
Diabetes Educators, attend
ees learn the basic tools to
help them make appropriate
lifestyle changes to reduce
their risk of developing dia
betes.
For more information on
class dates and times, call
EduCare at (478) 923-9771
or visit www.hhc.org.
Perry Hospital. “We don’t
want to discuss it, so we don’t
do anything about making
these important decisions.
Unfortunately, that’s when
our loved ones have to make
agonizing decisions for us.”
The Ethics Committees of
Perry Hospital and Houston
Medical Center, including
physicians, nurses, other
health care professionals
and community residents,
began looking at ways to
help individuals and their
loved ones discuss and plan
for their final health care.
The committees launched
Critical Conditions, a com
prehensive campaign to help
educate people about mak
ing final health care deci
sions and discussing them
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HEALTH
with their loved ones.
The program provides
tools to help individuals doc
ument their advance direc
tive.
“Physicians and other
health care practitioners
are faced with situations
every day where we walk
a fine line between pro
longing life and prolonging
death,” says Beth Jones,
RN, Director of Houston
Healthcare’s Community
Education and Health
Services and Chairperson
of Perry Hospital’s Ethics
Committee.
“Advancing medical
knowledge, treatments and
technologies offer us ever
increasing alternatives to
fighting illnesses and diseas-
es that we were once help
less against. But they have
also presented us with new
dilemmas and decisions.
When a patient’s wishes are
known, it takes the burden
of having to make those end
of-life decisions off of the
family.”
Hughes and other patient
representatives at Perry
Hospital and Houston
Medical Center meet with
patients and family mem
bers, encouraging them to
talk to their loved ones and
physician to address this
issue.
“Making these choices in
advance is one of the best
gifts you can give your fam
ily. And, the best time to
deal with these matters is
Perry Hospital auxiliary
installs new officers
Special to the Journal
The Perry Hospital
Auxiliary recently installed
its new officers for the year
2007.
The new officers include
Roselle Davidson, President;
Evelyn Davis, Vice-President;
Marjorie Daniel and Joyce
Griffin, Treasurers; and
Ethel Edwards, Secretary.
More than 150 adults
and young people serve
as volunteers through the
Auxiliaries of Perry Hospital
and Houston Medical Center.
They work in almost every
area of Houston Healthcare,
performing any number
of tasks from working the
information desk to fil
ing records, operating the
HOUSTON DAILY JOURNAL
now - before a crisis occurs,”
she said.
Houston Healthcare
is sponsoring a Critical
Conditions workshop on
Wednesday, Wednesday from
2 to 3 p.m. at the Houston
Health Pavilion EduCare
Center in the Houston Mall.
Attendees will learn more
about the Critical Conditions
program and the need to
plan for health care at the
end of life.
They will also receive a
copy of the legal document
that combines durable medi
cal power of attorney and
the living will.
For more information and
to pre-register, call (478)
923-9771.
gift shops and delivering
mail to patient rooms. The
Auxiliaries also give back to
the hospitals the money they
raise through sales in the
gift shops and other activi
ties.
For more information on
becoming a volunteer, call
(478) 542-7753.
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