TULSA, Okla. (April 4, 2018) – Is the flu season over? Not quite, according to doctors.
This flu season has been especially brutal, resulting in more than 4,500 hospitalizations and, tragically, 253 deaths from Sept. 1, 2017 – March 20, 2018 according to the Oklahoma State Department of Health (OSDH). OSDH reported no new deaths resulting from influenza from March 21 – March 27, 2018, though during the same time period 27 Oklahomans were hospitalized due to flu complications.
Hillcrest Medical Center (HMC) was recently recognized with an Excellence Through Insight award from HealthStream, Inc, a national health care organization focused on improving patient outcomes through the development of the health care workforce.
The awards are given annually to HealthStream clients who perform above industry and peer benchmark levels in a variety of categories. HMC was recognized for Most Improved Outpatient Satisfaction in the large hospital category (250+ beds) based on 2015 HealthStream data primarily collected from patient telephone surveys.
Tulsa, OK (August 23, 2016) Oklahoma Heart Institute (OHI) recently became one of the first hospitals in Oklahoma to offer patients with coronary artery disease a new treatment option that literally disappears over time.
Mary Seago of Liberty Mounds, OK, was the first OHI patient to be implanted with the world's first FDA-approved dissolving heart stent. The Absorb bioresorbable vascular scaffold is a major advancement in the treatment of coronary artery disease, which affects 15 million people in the United States and remains a leading cause of death worldwide.
Nat Torkelson, MS, RN, Administrative Director of Cardiovascular Services at Oklahoma Heart Institute tries not to miss her water aerobics class three times a week. But that’s not the only time she’s logging physical activity. Every thirty minutes she gets a reminder if she’s been sitting at her desk without getting up.
“There may be days that I have a lot of meeting time or in-office time, so my steps may be 3,000 or 4,000, and of course you aim for 10,000,” Nat explains. “The days that I greet in the lobby of the hospital, I have plenty of steps and I get more than 10,000.”
Are you a smoker or use tobacco and scared about lung cancer? Or have you quit, but still worry about the toll on health? According to the American Cancer Society, in 2012, about 42 million Americans used tobacco products – ranging from cigarettes, to cigars, e-cigarettes, hookahs, and chews or spit tobacco. Lung cancer is the leading cause of cancer deaths among men and women in the United States. Every year, it claims more lives than colon, breast, ovarian, and prostate cancers combined.
The Tulsa Roughnecks and Hillcrest HealthCare System recently announced a major partnership between the two organizations. In the agreement, Hillcrest HealthCare System will be the Official Medical Provider of the Roughnecks soccer team as well as the presenting sponsor of the team’s inaugural 2015 season.
“Today is an important day for our new soccer team,” said Roughnecks President Mike Melega. “The commitment given by Hillcrest HealthCare System is big for professional soccer in Tulsa and is a great first step for a successful return to the pro game for our city.”
What do you do when pain takes you away from your job and doing what you love? Unfortunately, that is the case for millions of Americans living with chronic and persistent knee pain. It is debilitating, forcing some to earlier retirement, withdraw from hobbies and trying to find a new way to live as their mobility continues to decrease. Knee pain has led to 4.7 million replacement surgeries in the U.S. as patients seek to reduce pain and restore function, according to recent data.
November is Lung Cancer Awareness month – a time health care providers bring the number one cause-related killer in the United States into the public conversation to learn more about what we can do to prevent, detect and treat this deadly illness to help save lives. The fact remains that lung cancer kills more people than breast, prostate, colon and pancreatic cancers combined. Each year, more than a quarter of a million Americans are diagnosed with lung cancer and each year it claims the lives of 165,000 people.
It was “the most debilitating thing someone could have,” according to 65 year old rancher and avid outdoors-man Melvin Mills. “It started when I was 45,” he remembers. “Nobody knew what it was.” Then in 2005, Melvin met Dr. David Sandler, who diagnosed him with Atrial Fibrillation (AFib) and warned him it could worsen.
