Augusta focus. ([Augusta, Ga.) 198?-current, January 20, 2005, Image 11

Augusta focus., January 20, 2005, Page 11A, Image 11

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Newspaper Page Text11A January 20, 2005 Living SENIOR HEALTH FOCUS Q:l've heard about a new, less invasive type of colon surgery What can you tell me about this procedure! W.A. Thomson, G I've heard about a new, less invasive type of colon sur gery. What can you tell me about this procedure? W.A. Thomson, Ga. There is indeed a new minimally invasive type of colon surgery known as laparoscopic colon resection. According to Chris C. Carl son, M.D., a board-certified surgeon who practices at University and performs the procedure, the new surgery MCG students organize fund-raiser for breast cancer foundation Students from the Medical College of Georgia Schools of Allied Health Sciences, Den ustry and Medicine have organized a January 24 fund raiser for the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. Everyone ils welcome at the First Annual Bash for Breast Cancer, which begins at 8 p.m. at Metro - A Coffechouse, 1054 Broad St., in downtown Augusta. Participating bands incﬁxlsie Jazz Collective and Center Street, the duo Jason Crawford and Steffans Harden and musician Brad Randolph. The $3 admission will go toward breast cancer rcx‘carci. The American Medical Stu dent Association and Amern can Medical Association each will donate $1 for every med New disaster courses focus on decontamination from deadly chemicals A course that prepares hospital support person nel to decontaminate patients exposed to potentially ~ dangerous chemicals is spreading across Georgia. “We use the example of the sarin gas attack in the Tokyo subway in 1995, says Chuck Stud ley, a physician assistant and director of opera tions for the Medical College of Georgia’s Center of Operational Medicine, which devel oped the new Core Dis aster Life Support - Decontamination or CDLS-D® course. “Sev eral hospital employees, over 23 percent, became contaminated and suf fered the signs and symptoms of nerve agent exposure in that attack. This course shows per sonnel the proper steps to decontaminate patients prior to them entering the hospital, protecting not only those providing deconta mination, but the clini- may be appropriate for select patients who need surgery for: -Colorectal cancer -Crohn’s Disease -Diverticulitis Inflammatory bowel dis ease -Bowel obstructions -Polyps that cannot be removed during a colonoscopy Patients who undergo tra ditional colon surgeries ical student who attends, said Todd Taylor, a second-year medical student helping urTanize the event. Proceeds will go toward the $10,500 goal set by five MCG students — Shelbey Daniels, Shauna Green, Brooke Morehead, Kathleen Gilllam and Jamie Liggins — for the foundation’s three-day, 60-mile walk in Atlanta September 30 — Octo ber 2. The Medical College of Georgia is the state’s health sci ences university and includes the Schools of Allied Health Sciences, Dentistry, Graduate Studies, Medicine and Nurs ing. MCG is a unit of the Uni versity System of Georgia and an equal opportunity institu ton. cians providing care inside the hospital.” The Georgia Division of Public Health, the course sponsor, has asked MCG to teach courses across the state over this year to ensure that all regions are pre pared for bioterrorism and other disasters. The next course is set for Thursday and Friday, Jan. 13-14, at St. Mary’s Healthcare System in Athens, Ga. Additional courses are scheduled at Phoebe Putney Memori al Hospital in Albany, Ga., Jan. 20-21; Emory Crawford Long Hospital in Atlanta, Feb. 3-4 and Satilla Regional Medical Center in Waycross, Ga., Feb. 23-24. MCG worked with col leagues at the University of Georgia, the Universi ty of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas and the University of Texas at Houston School of Public Health to design Basic Disaster Life ~ Support and AUGUSTA FOCUS often face difficult recoveries because surgeons have to make long incisions. As a result these patient usually stay in the hospital from five to 10 days and may take as long as six week to recover. “But this new procedure is going to completely change the way people are effected by colon surgery and how quickly they recover,” says Dr. Carlson. “We have been sending many of our Study shows peanuts may be nature’s vitamin pill (NAPSI)-Peanut lovers may have another good reason to come out of their shells. A new study from Pennsylvania State University shows that just one serving of peanuts or peanut butter a day can help children and adults meet require ments for nutrients often lacking in American diets. The data comes from a United States Department of Agricul ture national survey of what people are eating and shows that peanut caters had higher intakes of several hard-to-get nutrients compared to those who do not con sume peanuts. The 2005 Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee has discov Advanced Disaster Life Support courses that, much like Advanced Cardiac Life Support for heart patients, are becoming the national training standard for providers who might treat victims of natural or manmade disasters. The latest, CDLS-D®, targets the people who help those providers. Plans already are in motion to make it avail able across the country as well. “Most of the deconta mination training today has focused on the ‘hot zone’ and very little of it has been taught at hospi tals,” Dr. Greene Shep herd, a University of Georgia/MCG toxicolo gist at the center, says of the newest course. “But what we learned from Tokyo and other situa tions is that about 80 percent of the victims of such attacks are going to go directly to the hospi tal without interacting with EMS or the haz patients home within three days after surgery.” Laparoscopic colon resec tion allows surgeons to per form many common colon procedures through four or five small openings, each about one-half inch wide. A telescope with a camera is inserted into the patient’s navel, allowing surgeons to view an enlarged image of the patient’s internal organs on a television monitor as ered that vitamin A, vita min E, vitamin C, calci um, magnesium, potassi um and fiber are all lack ing in typical American diets. This study shows that eating just one daily serving of peanuts or peanut butter can help children and adults meet nutrient needs. For this reason, peanuts have often been referred to as “Mother Nature’s multi vitamin.” Vitamin E, which is hard to get from foods, is thought to help prevent heart disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia. One serving of peanuts or peanut butter contains 16 to 18 per cent of the Daily Value for vitamin E. One serv ing of peanuts also con ardous materials team.” CDLS-D® focuses on administrators, security and safety officers, housekeeping personnel and others who might become the hospital’s front line in disasters, setting up decontamina tion sites so patients can be cleaned quickly and correctly before entering the hospital and spread ing contamination. Hos pitals in the Augusta area worked through such a situation Jan. 6, 2005 when a train colli sion in nearby Gran iteville, S.C., sent out a cloud of chlorine gas; nine people died and about 200 were treated at area hospitals. Hospi tals, including MCG Medical Center, rapidly set up decontamination sites outside their doors so patients could be treated as quickly as pos sible. The two-day CDLS-D® course teach es participants some thing about potentially harmful chemicals such as chlorine, which was they work. The procedure offers the following potential advan tages over traditional colon surgery: less post-operative pain -may shorten hospital stay -may result in a faster return to solid food and quicker return of bowel function quicker return to normal activity better cos metic results “The procedure is also less tains almost 10 percent of the Recommended Dietary Allowance for folate, which is impor tant for reducing the risk of heart disease, as well as preventing neural tube defects in unborn babies. Americans are current ly consuming only about half of the fiber they need each day. Fiber con sumption has been linked to a reduced risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. A one ounce serving of peanuts or a two-tablespoon serv ing of peanut butter con tains about two grams of fiber-that’s as much as a slice of whole-wheat bread. This study also helps to dispel the myth that higher-fat foods automatically lead to being hauled by one of the trains, and cyanide, used in industry and also shipped around the country. But it focuses on familiarizing person nel with the terminology and activity of disaster management and how to rapidly set up and use decontamination facili ties, says Dr. Shepherd. “The goal of all the courses is to get every one to use a common language, sort of like CPE. You can take somebody from the East Coast, somebody from the West Coast and meet in the middle of the country and they all know how to do this the same way. They know the same vocabulary. We are trying to do that with disasters.” This common language trans lates to smoother manage ment when disaster strikes, he says. Coursework includes a four-hour didactic session the first day, where partic ipants learn basics about hazardous chemical expensive than traditional surgery, since the hospital stays are considerably short er,” says Dr. Carlson. If you have health ques tions or a question youd like addressed in this column, call University's ASK-A NURSE at 706/737-8423 (SER-VICE) or 800/476- 7378. weight gain. The peanut eaters had leaner bodies compared to the non peanut eaters as meas ured by body mass index (BMI), an indicator of body fatness. Add chopped peanuts to fruit salad or spread peanut butter on apple or pear slices to satisfy hunger. Drizzle melted peanut butter over non fat ice cream for a sweet treat. To learn more about peanuts and health, visit Y 9 Y .peanut institute.org. The USDA study also showed that peanut eaters had leaner bodies than non-peanut eaters. o AN ¥s~ e ] k, . & e ‘v ) ﬂ‘: o N g ' The Medical College of Geor gla has developed a course that prepares hospital support personnel to decontaminate patients exposed to potential ly dangerous chemicals and the Georgla Division of Public Health s sponsoring that course across the state. agents. The afternoon is spent learning to don pro tective gear or how and where to set up commer cially-built shelters for decontamination. The second day, mock disas ters enable participants to see how it all comes together.