Category "Practice News"

Sibley Memorial Hospital has earned a “Gold Seal of Approval” for hospital accreditation from a national nonprofit that assesses the quality of hospitals and other health care organizations.

The Joint Commission, which has been accrediting hospitals for over 60 years, conducted an unannounced site visit at Sibley in October, evaluating compliance with standards in numerous areas, including emergency management, environment of care, infection prevention and control, and medication management.

“Sibley is pleased to receive accreditation from The Joint Commission, the premier health care quality improvement and accrediting body in the nation,” said Sibley president Richard “Chip” Davis.

The Presidential Healthcare Center offers facilitate access throughout the Johns Hopkins Sibley Memorial Hospital campus, where construction of the new hospital is progressing rapidly.

Source: Georgetown Current

Immunization helps prevent dangerous and sometimes deadly diseases. To stay protected against serious illnesses like the flu, measles, and tuberculosis, adults need to get their shots – just like kids do.

Immunization is especially important for adults 60 years of age and older and for those who have a chronic condition such as asthma, COPD, diabetes or heart disease.

Immunization is also important for anyone who is in close contact with the very young, the very old, people with weakened immune systems and those who cannot be vaccinated.

Annual flu shots can protect against seasonal influenza. The Center will continue to provide quadrivalent vaccines this flu season to keep our patients healthy all year long.

Sources: National Public Health Information Coalition and  healthfinder.gov

PHC’s Dr. Elting appeared on News Channel 8 Monday with Bruce Depuyt to discuss Ebola virus. Depuyt asked Dr. Elting, an infectious disease specialist, for insight into the virus and the pair of American patients who just arrived in the United States for treatment.

From the broadcast:

We begin this time with the latest on the Ebola crisis in Africa. A new report just out overnight finds 826 people have died from the virus. There’s been a surge of cases in Liberia and Sierra Leone. The American doctor suffering from Ebola is now being treated in a Georgia hospital and a colleague is on her way home.

Joining us now is Dr. Jeffrey Elting. Dr. Elting is the Medical Director of the Presidential Healthcare Center in the district. Before taking his current position, he coordinated bioterrorism responses for the DC Hospital Association.

“It’s a hemorrhagic fever virus,” Dr. Elting said. “There have been over 40 outbreaks over the last 40 years, mostly in Africa, and with that comes a high death rate.”

“You have to take into account that, in some of those areas, they don’t have the assets to provide the correct isolation and the correct care.”

Dr. Elting spoke on the treatment the two American patients– Dr. Kent Brantly and Nancy Writebol– will receive at Emory Hospital in Atlanta. He also answered questions from viewers calling into the show.

“It’s transmitted by bodily fluids. It’s not transmitted by respiratory droplets like the flu or a cold,” Dr. Elting said. “Once a person gets infected, there’s an incubation period between the time they get exposed to the time they actually have symptoms. That can range anywhere from two to 21 days.”

“The initial symptoms are somewhat flu-like. They get muscle aches, headaches, fever, don’t feel well, they have vomiting. But it is a hemorrhagic virus. It causes hemorrhaging, in which case you’ll get things like bleeding into your eyes, bleeding into your lungs, bleeding into your internal organs. Generally, that’s what your cause of death is.”

View the whole interview here.

A stroke occurs when blood flow to part of the brain is blocked; we sometimes refer to it as a “brain attack.” Two million brain cells die every minute during stroke, increasing the risk of permanent brain damage, disability or death.

In the United States, stroke is the fourth leading cause of death, killing over 133,000 people each year, and a leading cause of serious, long-term adult disability. Stroke can happen to anyone at any time, regardless of race, sex or age.

High blood pressure is the leading risk factor for stroke. However, other risk factors include:

• Atrial fibrillation
• Diabetes
• Family history of stroke
• High cholesterol
• Increasing age (esp. over 55)
• Race (black people have almost twice the risk of first-ever stroke than white people)
• Heart disease
• Lifestyle factors (smoking, poor diet, lack of exercise)

 Women are twice as likely to die from stroke than breast cancer annually. The estimated direct and indirect cost of stroke in the United States in 2010 is $73.7 billion.

Learning the signs of stroke are crucial, because time is of the essence when a stroke is occurring. Two million brain cells die every minute during stroke, increasing risk of permanent brain damage, disability, or death. Recognizing the symptoms and acting FAST to get emergency medical attention can save a life and limit disabilities.

To learn more, see the National STROKE Association‘s fact sheet or the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Cancer Control Month celebrates advances in the fight against cancer. These include all aspects of prevention, early detection, and treatment of this devastating disease.

The best way to fight cancer is to find cancer cells early and get rid of them. The earlier cancer is found, the better the prognosis.

Cancer is the second leading cause of death in America, after heart disease. Today, about half of all men and about 1 in every 3 women will develop cancer at some point in their lives.

However, cancer rates and deaths have been on the decline since the 1990s. We now know ways to prevent cancer from developing. One third of all cancers detected will be related to obesity or being overweight, physical inactivity, and nutrition choices.

While everyone is at risk for cancer, some factors cause certain people to be at greater risk. Age is the greatest risk factor for cancer, with 77% of cancers being detected at age 55 or older. Smokers, heavy drinkers, the physically inactive, those with a poor diet, and those who have had prolonged and unprotected exposure to sunlight are also all at an increased risk for different types of cancers.

At PHC, we provide the most intensive and thorough cancer screening available. Our preventive executive physicals include tests designed to catch cancer in its earliest stages. Each patient receives a personalized program of studies tailored specifically for individual risk factors, including family history. This April, celebrate Cancer Control Month by scheduling your executive physical as soon as possible!

Read more information here.

Your risk of colorectal cancer increases as you age; more than 90% of all cases occur in individuals who are 50 and older. Colorectal cancer screening helps find precancerous polyps so they can be removed before they turn into cancer.

It’s important to get tested according to national guidelines, which include colonoscopies and occult blood tests. At Presidential Healthcare Center, we track your CEA levels as part of our executive physical program; this is a cancer marker that can help us catch the disease in its earliest stages. Celebrate this March by scheduling your personalized executive physical!

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cancer is the second most common cause of death, surpassed only by heart disease. It accounts for nearly one of every four deaths in the U.S. each year. At the Presidential Healthcare Center, we offer many different types of cancer screenings–customized to your lifestyle and risk factors–in order to catch diseases in their earliest stages.

Breast cancer is the most common cancer among American women, other than skin cancer. Mammography can detect breast cancer at an early stage when treatment may be more effective and a cure is more likely.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, colorectal cancer is the second leading cause of cancer deaths in the U.S. More than 130,000 new cases are diagnosed each year. Regular colorectal screening can prevent colorectal cancer. Screening can detect precancerous polyps, which can be removed before they have the chance to turn into cancer. There are many types of screening tests available, although they have different testing frequencies.

An estimated 12,000 new cases of cervical cancer are diagnosed each year. When detected early, however, cervical cancer is preventable. Cervical cancer can be found early by having regular Pap tests. A Pap test can find changes in the cervix before cancer develops; it can also find cervical cancer early, in its most treatable stage.

At PHC, our preventive executive physicals provide the most extensive cancer screening available to ensure that our patients catch any abnormalities early, before they become major health issues. Each patient receives a custom-tailored program designed specifically for the individual’s needs, concerns, and risk factors, including family history. Celebrate Cancer Prevention Month by scheduling a preventive executive physical for yourself and your loved ones!

The month of February is dedicated to raising awareness about heart disease and increasing knowledge about prevention. Heart disease, including stroke, is the leading cause of death for men and women in the United States. However, heart disease can often be prevented when people make healthy choices and manage their health conditions.

At the Center, we provide extensive screening for your heart, going far beyond what a typical physical may entail. We catch heart disease at its earliest stages and help you manage your choices to ensure that your heart stays healthy for years to come.

A study by Merritt Hawkins recently looked at the average waiting times to gain access to medical attention across different specialties in different cities across the U.S. The survey found that it could take weeks for a patient to schedule an appointment at cardiology, dermatology, and primary care practices, among others.

Boston is experiencing the longest average doctor appointment wait times of the 15 metro markets examined in the survey: 72 days to see a dermatologist, 66 days to see a family physician, 46 days to see an ob/gyn, 27 days to see a cardiologist, and 16 days to see an orthopedic surgeon. On average, it takes over 45 days to schedule a doctor appointment in the Boston area, the survey indicates. In each of the three years Merritt Hawkins has released the survey (2004, 2009, 2014) Boston has averaged the longest physician appointment wait times among the 15 cities.

Other average physician appointment wait times tracked by the survey include 28 days to see a cardiologist in Denver, 49 days to see a dermatologist in Philadelphia, 35 days to see an ob/gyn in Portland, 18 days to see an orthopedic surgeon in San Diego, and 26 days to see a family physician in New York. Physician appointment wait times tracked in the survey varied from as little as one day to over eight months, with an overall average in all metro areas and all specialties of about 19 days.

“Finding a physician who can see you today, or three weeks from today, can be a challenge, even in urban areas where there is a high ratio of physicians per population,” said Mark Smith, president of Merritt Hawkins. “The demand for doctors is simply outstripping the supply.”

At the Presidential Healthcare Center, we guarantee our patients 24/7 access to their doctor and strive to work around their schedule, not ours. The Center provides “one-stop shopping” for our patients, connecting them with specialists right here in our complex and ensuring that all their needs are met during one convenient visit.

The more influenza strains your vaccine has, the better! Quadrivalent flu vaccines have four viral strains to help your body fight the flu, and they’re new to the public this season. We have the shot available free to all of our patients; call today to reserve your vaccine!