The Jorgensen Family YMCA will be sponsoring a spa day Monday, August 30 from 8 a.m. to 11 a.m.!

A variety of services will be offered with prices starting at only $8! Space is limited so sign up for your appointment today at the member services desk.

Click here to see a description of the services offered!

Partnership with Brooklyn Medical Group adds 24 physicians to LMG roster

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (Aug. 4, 2010) – One of northeastern Indiana’s most recognizable physician practices has joined Lutheran Medical Group. For more than 40 years, physicians with Brooklyn Medical Associates have provided primary care to area patients. Leaders from BMA and Lutheran Health Network announced today the new partnership that adds 24 family physicians to Lutheran Medical Group, expanding the multispecialty practice to 88 total physicians.

 “Our ongoing commitment to further integrate with area physicians is important for patients because it helps us fulfill our vision to deliver unsurpassed healthcare,” said Joe Dorko, interim CEO of Lutheran Health Network. “Welcoming these outstanding physicians to Lutheran Medical Group helps us continue to improve the patient’s experience, enhance our commitment to quality and remain good stewards of our limited resources.”

 The letters BMA originally represented the last names of physicians Richard Bower, MD, Steven Michaels, MD, and Herbert Acker, MD, who all coincidentally practiced on Brooklyn Avenue. BMA physicians today care for patients at six, soon-to-be seven, locations across the area. The most recent addition to the practice is Rebecca Baker-Palmer, MD, who will help launch the new Lutheran Health Plaza in New Haven when she begins seeing patients there Aug. 23.

 “Our physicians are pleased with the decision to join Lutheran Medical Group,” said Mike Mohrman, MD, president, Brooklyn Medical Associates. “With the challenges and opportunities all physicians face delivering the best quality healthcare to their patients, BMA made the decision 18 months ago to investigate physician-hospital integration. The result of that process is this partnership with Lutheran Medical Group and Lutheran Health Network – a partnership we believe will allow BMA to continue to deliver the highest quality primary care.”

 Lutheran Medical Group caregivers specialize in 12 areas of expertise including allergy, cardiology, electrophysiology, gastroenterology, general surgery, hospitalist, infectious disease, internal medicine, pediatric specialties, primary care, pulmonology and rheumatology. LMG also takes part in numerous research studies and offers an array of diagnostic services.

 LMG is the largest component of Lutheran Health Physicians, a grouping of Lutheran Health Network owned physician practices that includes St. Joseph Medical Group, Bluffton Physician Services, Dukes Medical Group, Kosciusko Medical Group and RediMed. With this announcement, Lutheran Health Physicians grows to 238 providers and more than 950 employees region wide.

 BMA’s transformation to Lutheran Medical Group is expected to be virtually seamless for patients and members of the general public. The new partnership takes effect immediately.

CHURUBUSCO, Ind. (July 8, 2010) – St. Joseph Medical Group and the Whitley County Health Department will offer free sports physicals and immunizations Monday, July 26 from 2 to 6 p.m. at Churubusco Family Medicine, 202 W. Whitley Way, Churubusco.

Free sports physicals will be performed by the clinic’s soon-to-be full-time primary care physician, Dr. Jeffrey Witt, along with Fort Wayne Medical Education Program residents and St. Joseph Medical Group staff.

 Free immunizations will be administered by the Whitley County Health Department and St. Joseph Medical Group staff.

For additional information, call the clinic at (260) 693-3700.

Visiting Nurse & Hospice Home announces the election of new members and officers to the board of directors for the 2010-2011 term.  Elected as officers were: Daryl Yost, Northeast Indiana Innovation Center, Board Chair; Elizabeth Frederick, attorney, Vice Chair; Michael Erler, Treasurer; and Denice Beights, Fort Wayne Women’s Bureau, Secretary.

 Elected as a new board member: Brandon Haushalter, C.O.O., St. Joseph Hospital.

 Continuing their terms on the board of directors: Stephen Adair, Beers, Mallers, Backs & Salin; Tammy Andrews, Lincoln Financial Group; Jerome Baer, Miller’s Health Systems;  Vicki Bandor Braun, community volunteer; James Brunnemer, Physician’s Health Plan; Anne Cavanaugh, Summit RE; Brian Fehlhaber, Summit RE; Cheryl Harrison, Lutheran Health Network; Rick Keltsch, Ruffalo Benson Consulting; Annemarie Rhinehart, community volunteer; Kim Sabrosky, Indiana Michigan Power; Nick Shah, Impex International and Joseph Byers, Grabill Bank, Leadership Fort Wayne intern.

 Visiting Nurse & Hospice Home is a non-profit United Way partner agency that provides hospice and palliative care to patients in a seven-county area in northeast Indiana. For more information visit the agency’s web site at www.vnhh.org or call (260) 435-3222.

Story thanks to Jennifer Zartman Romano and Talk of the Town

An important announcement was made this afternoon regarding the leadership of Parkview Whitley Hospital.

Scott Gabriel has been named as the new chief operating officer, filling the vacancy left by John Meister who accepted a different position within Parkview Health this spring.

With more than 16 years experience in healthcare, Gabriel most recently served as vice president of operations at Dukes Memorial Hospital in Peru, Indiana.

To visit Talk of the Town, click here.

FORT WAYNE, Ind. (May 20, 2010) – Feet will be flying Friday on the Dupont Hospital campus. Dupont is sponsoring a Spring Fun Run for children attending St. Vincent de Paul School. The Fun Run is noncompetitive and the goal is to promote fun physical activity to students of all athletic abilities.

 Students in grades K – 4 will gather at the Dupont Sport and Fitness Park from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Each has participated in a weekly after school club to “train” for the event. The kids were asked to donate $1 or a nonperishable food item which will be donated to the St Vincent de Paul Food Bank.

 “Dupont is committed to promoting wellness and the Fun Run is a perfect opportunity for the students to learn healthy behaviors while helping those who are in need at the same time,” said event coordinator Julie West, RD, CD, clinical dietetics specialist, Dupont Hospital. “St. Vincent is our neighbor and many of these students were born in our Birthplace at Dupont, so this activity also gives our team members the chance to see some familiar faces and enjoy an afternoon in the park.”

 More than 200 students are expected to participate in the Spring Fun Run.

By Kayla Crance

Once thought to be a rare disease, it is now known as one of the most common inherited diseases today. Recent figures show that it occurs in about 1 in every 250 people throughout the world and figures show it is even more prevalent in the United States with 1 out of every 133 people being afflicted with it (Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University).

So what is this rather silent disease that is sweeping the country? It is Celiac Disease.

Now, many of you probably have no clue what Celiac Disease is and that is understandable. I had never heard of it either until about 5 months ago when I stumbled upon it and found it to explain many of my medical problems. It is not a very well known medical condition but slowly people are becoming more aware of its presence.

Celiac Disease is a condition in which your body has an immune response when you eat gluten.

Now, you are probably asking yourself “what the heck is gluten?” Gluten is a protein. Unfortunately, it is a protein that our bodies are not designed to digest.

In a person that does not have Celiac Disease the lining of the small intestine absorbs the nutrients from the food and does not allow the gluten to pass through the lining so the gluten is simply passed as waste. In a person with Celiac Disease the gluten gets through the lining and the body has an adverse immune reaction to it. This immune reaction can leave the body malnourished of nutrients and damage the small intestine, and therefore may cause many other disorders such as rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, anemia, cancer, as well as specific vitamin deficiencies (Vitamin B12, for example).

You might be wondering what the real danger of Celiac Disease is? The dangerous part of Celiac is that you may not exhibit any symptoms at all (or not realize the symptoms are related to Celiac) and continue to eat gluten, leading to continual and potentially permanent damage to the small intestine.

To make matters more confusing, there is Celiac Disease and there is gluten intolerance/sensitivity; it is important to know they are not the same thing but can be very similar.

The basic difference is that Celiac Disease is a condition that can be hereditary (you actually contain a gene making you more susceptible to developing Celiac) and is an autoimmune disorder meaning the body attacks normal tissue, such as the small intestine, in response to eating gluten. The immune response can cause permanent damage to the intestine and lead to other autoimmune disorders or medical conditions.

Gluten intolerance/sensitivity is more like lactose intolerance and food allergies in that it typically does not cause intestinal damage or permanent organ damage and the symptoms usually disappear once the substance, in this case gluten, is out of the body.

For more information on Celiac Disease click on the following links to visit the Celiac Disease Center at Columbia University, the Celiac Disease Foundation, or the Celiac Sprue Association.

In the next installment of Health Week, I will discuss the symptoms and diagnosis of Celiac Disease and gluten intolerance/sensitivity. Stay tuned!

Francine’s Friends Mobile Mammography unit will be in Columbia City for women interested in scheduling a mammogram.

 On Friday, April 2, the mobile unit will be at Kroger, 6210 Countryside drive, Columbia city.

 Screening mammography is for women who:

•  Are age 40 and older and have not had a mammogram screening in the past 12 months
• Have no prior or current history of breast cancer or problems with their breasts
• Are insured or uninsured

 

The Breast Diagnostic Center (BDC) performs the screening. For women who have insurance, the insurance company will be billed. If patients do not have insurance but have the ability to pay, the BDC offers a reduced rate if paid the day of the screening. For women without insurance, a high deductible or who do not have the resources to pay, funding is available.

 To schedule a mammogram with Francine’s Friends Mobile Mammography unit, call 1-800-727-8439, ext. 26540, or (260) 483-1847. For more information on Francine’s Friends, visit its website at www.FrancinesFriends.org.

 Francine’s Friends Mobile mammography is a partnership between Francine’s Friends, Parkview Comprehensive Cancer Center and the Breast Diagnostic Center.

Thanks to the Whitley County Family YMCA and Parkview Whitley Hospital, there will be a health screen blood draw on January 27.

The health screen blood draw will take place from 6:30 a.m. until 9 a.m. in Columbia City at the Whitley County Family YMCA.

The tests being offered are the Chem 17, the PSA, and the TSH, though a 10 to 12 hour fast is recommended.

For YMCA members the tests are $22 and $25 for non-members.

For more, see the article from our partner in the Whitley News Network, Talk of the Town, at http://www.talkofthetownwc.com/.

COLUMBIA CITY, Ind. (Nov. 11, 2009) – A free H1N1 immunization clinic  will be held Thursday, Nov. 12, from 16 p.m. at the Whitley County Government Center, Health Department, 220 W. Van Buren St.

The clinic is for Whitley County women who are pregnant, for any child from 6 months to 18 years of age, people ages 19-64 with chronic health problems, especially pulmonary conditions, and for any parent/caretaker with a child under the age of six months. Children under 6 months old cannot be immunized and therefore the parents are being offered the immunizations.

No appointment is necessary. Participants must show proof of (Whitley County) residency or be referred by a Whitley County doctor and must be in the target groups specified.

For more information call the Whitley County Health Department’s immunization clinic at 260-244-2310.

Watch this site for announcements of the WCHD weekly clinics as well as information on which groups will be eligible for the H1N1 vaccines.