June 2013

Keeping careCLOSE TO HOME

Family benefits from heart specialistpage 6

SHM A G A Z I N ESummer 2013

M A G A Z I N E

SANFORD HEALTH COMMITTED TO REGION

Your comments,concerns and questionsare always welcome.

P L E A S E C O N T A C TTim Flagstad, editorSanford HealthPO Box 5525Bismarck, ND [email protected](701) 323-6512

SH Magazine is published as a community service of Sanford Health.

C O N T R I B U T I N GW R I T E R STim FlagstadPatrick KellarKim SingerMandy Thomas

P H O T O G R A P H YThe Creative Treatment

C O V E R P H O T OKiley Brew, 4, was born with a congenital heart defect. She receives ongoing care from a Sanford Health pediatric cardiologist in Bismarck.

SANFORDspotlight

Nine months ago, the signs on our downtown campus changed from Medcenter One to Sanford Health, as we completed our historic merger. While our name is different, our commitment to providing high-quality, compassionate health care in our region is not.

Local, dedicated leadership in Bismarck sets the strategic direction and priorities of Sanford Health’s new western region. That leadership includes a team that guided Medcenter One and a Board of Directors made up of community members from Bismarck-Mandan and around the region. The same trusted doctors, nurses and health professionals are in place to provide care for our patients and to deliver on the Sanford Promise of delivering a flawless experience that inspires.

Sanford Health strongly believes in investing in the communities it serves. Through our community dividend fund, we aim to help strengthen communities and enhance the quality of life through three specific areas. These areas include programs and activities that: promote health care and wellness, support education through academic and athletic programs and events and partner with communities in economic development efforts.

We look forward to serving Bismarck-Mandan and central and western North Dakota for years to come, as we have for more than 100 years.

Sincerely,Craig Lambrecht, MD

Summer 2013

Craig Lambrecht, MDPresidentBismarck regionSanford Health

TIPS TO KNOW ABOUT BUG BITESWith summer under way, we will be spending more time outdoors with our families and friends. Of course, in North Dakota, that usually means pesky bites from mosquitoes and other insects.

PreventionTo help avoid insect bites, use insect repellent that contains ingredients registered with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA)—an EPA registration number should be on the product label. Spray the repellent on clothes or skin, but avoid spraying it on your face. Make sure products used on children have no more than 10 percent DEET. Do not use repellent with DEET on babies under 2 months. Avoid putting repellent on children’s faces, hands and areas where they may have cuts, and wash the repellent off with soap and water after returning indoors. When using repellent and sunscreen, apply the sunscreen first.

After a bite: reducing discomfortMost reactions are minimal, causing itching and mild swelling that goes away in a day or two. If needed, use ice or an ice pack to reduce pain and swelling. You also can use hydrocortisone cream, calamine lotion or baking soda paste—all available over the counter—on the bite to reduce itching. If stung by a bee or wasp, remove the stinger if it is stuck in the skin, and wash the area with soap and water.

After a bite: When to seek further helpTypically, bees, wasps, hornets and yellow jackets are most likely to cause stronger reactions. If you experience nausea and intestinal cramps, fever, hives, painful joints, diarrhea or significant swelling, call your doctor. Symptoms of a severe reaction may include nausea, vomiting, rapid heartbeat, difficulty breathing, abdominal pain, facial or throat swelling, limbs that swell or turn blue and circulation problems related to your body going into shock. Go immediately to the nearest emergency department if you begin developing any of these conditions.

If you are with someone who is having an allergic reaction, call for an ambulance immediately. Check to see if the person is carrying an EpiPen or medications to treat an allergic attack. If so, administer the drug as quickly as possible. Have the individual lie down and place the feet higher than the head. If the person begins choking or vomiting, turn the person onto his or her side.

Krissondra Klop, DO, is a family medicine physician at Sanford South Clinic in Bismarck. To request an appointment with her, call (701) 323-8962 or visit bismarck.sanfordhealth.org.

Krissondra Klop, DOFamily MedicineSanford South ClinicBismarck

HEALTH IN FOCUS

SANFORD HEALTH MAGAZINE 3

Donna Emter makes sure she always schedules an annual wellness visit with her primary care physician.

One such visit with Sherry Stein, MD, a family medicine physician at Sanford South Clinic in Bismarck, potentially saved the 60-year-old’s life.

Going into her January 2012 visit with Dr. Stein, Emter had been feeling unusually fatigued and had been experiencing trouble breathing.

“I just attributed it to my age and sandbagging during the flood from the summer before,” Emter said, “so I just waited until my yearly appointment.”

Emter didn’t have the chance to bring up that particular concern during the exam. Dr. Stein, Emter’s long-time primary care physician, knew right away something wasn’t right when she heard a murmur in Emter’s heart that never was there before.

“I just trusted her so much,” Emter said. “She’s so open and willing to listen. I was just amazed. She heard the murmur and went running with it because she knew there was a problem.”

A routine wellness exam with Sherry Stein, MD, helped Donna Emter catch potentially serious health problems, allowing her more time with her husband, Ron, and her 1-year-old granddaughter, Lydia.

4 bismarck.sanfordhealth.org

PREVENTION PAYS OFF

Woman back on road to health after wellness exam reveals heart trouble

Before she left Dr. Stein’s office, Emter had an appointment with a Sanford Health cardiologist. After advanced testing, the heart team at Sanford Health found the cause of the problem and scheduled Emter for surgery.

Soon after, Sean Russell, MD, Sanford heart surgeon in Bismarck, repaired the mitral valve in Emter’s heart.

“Donna’s case is exactly why routine annual wellness visits are important,” Dr. Stein said. “People sometimes think they don’t need preventive visits, but they’re more important than anything. They allow us to catch things early and develop a treatment plan.”

In October, Emter returned to Dr. Stein’s office. The patient noticed blood in her stool, and, because of her familiarity with Dr. Stein, Emter had no problem discussing such a sensitive topic.

“When you’ve got something wrong with you, you don’t want to ignore it,” Emter said, “but you don’t want to believe that there’s something else wrong with you.”

Dr. Stein set up an appointment with Douglas Berglund, MD, a colorectal surgeon at Sanford in Bismarck, for later in the week.

A colonoscopy revealed a cancerous tumor in Emter’s colon. Dr. Berglund removed the tumor, and, because they caught it early, the cancer didn’t spread to Emter’s lymph nodes or her colon wall.

“They worked together very well,” Emter said of Dr. Stein and the Sanford specialists. “She set up the appointments for me, so that was a big burden off of me. Not having anything wrong with me before, I would have been at a loss about how to take care of it. She made me feel that it’s more than her job—that she cared for me.”

Now, six months later, Emter is still regaining her strength, but she has returned to her full-time position at CenturyLink in Bismarck. She and her husband, Ron, look forward to summer fishing excursions to their lake home on Lake Tschida.

In the middle of her medical scares, Emter became a grandmother for the first time. Her granddaughter, Lydia, turned 1 on June 2. Because of her routine preventive exam and close relationship with her family medicine physician, Emter looks forward to watching her granddaughter grow up.

“That’s what we’re so grateful for,” Emter said. “I feel so blessed.”

Sanford Health operates three family medicine clinics in Bismarck and two in Mandan. To learn more about the locations and the services family medicine physicians provide or to request an appointment online, visit bismarck.sanfordhealth.org/familymedicine.

Douglas Berglund, MDColorectal surgeon

Sanford ClinicBismarck

Sean Russell, MDHeart surgeonSanford Clinic

Bismarck

When 4-year-old Kylie Brew visits the doctor, her biggest worry is that she won’t walk away with the small package of Teddy Grahams patients at Sanford Children’s Clinic in Bismarck customarily receive.

Her parents, of course, have greater concerns, but one thing they don’t have to fret over is lengthy travel for Kylie to receive her routine specialty care.

A little more than a year ago, an echocardiogram, a test that produces an image of the heart, revealed a hole between the lower chambers of Kylie’s heart, which caused the heart murmur she had since birth.

“It was definitely surprising because we had no idea,” said Lisa Brew, Kylie’s mother. “We thought it was a typical heart murmur.”

The condition, known as a ventricular septal defect (VSD), was present in Kylie from birth. Congenital heart defects, such as VSD, are present in around

HOME IS WHERE THE HEART CARE IS


1 percent of children, said Justin Horner, MD, a Sanford Health pediatric cardiologist.

Because of the VSD, Kylie must undergo routine testing to ensure her heart function remains normal and that the hole hasn’t worsened or caused any damage to the valves in her heart. Rather than travel out of town for those tests, the Brews, who live in Mandan, are able to keep Kylie close to home because of Dr. Horner, who makes regular visits to Bismarck from his Fargo office.

When Dr. Horner is in Bismarck, he conducts a follow-up echocardiogram, other tests as needed and performs an exam. In between visits with Dr. Horner, Kylie’s Sanford pediatrician in Bismarck, Parag Kumar, MD, can consult with Dr. Horner if needed.

“It’s a big benefit. Parents don’t have to travel, and we have a quick opinion to us right away,” Dr. Kumar said. “Our mission is to deliver the best possible care under one roof, and this allows us to do that.”

In one of the first visits with Dr. Horner, Lisa mentioned she is expecting another child. Because Kylie has a congenital heart defect, the chances of the baby having one doubles, Dr. Horner said. So, Dr. Horner performed a fetal echocardiogram on Lisa to check the fetus’ heart to make sure it was developing properly.

“Any time you’re pregnant, you have concerns and worries,” Lisa said. “It gives me peace of mind.”

At some point in the future, Kylie may have to undergo open heart surgery to repair the hole in her heart, a decision the Brews will make while working with Dr. Horner. With or without surgery, Dr. Horner said Kylie likely can expect to live a normal and healthy life with no limitations on her activity, which is welcome news to her parents.

“Kylie would be the last child you’d think would have a heart defect. She is the wild child,” Lisa said. “She’s in gymnastics, and she wants to play hockey. She’s very active, and she would not be a good child to sit on the sidelines.”

With his regular visits,Dr. Horner will make sure Kylie doesn’t have to. Dr. Horner, a Mandan native and graduate of Mandan High, is happy to bring the service to the region.

“We don’t just see people from Bismarck-Mandan,” he said. “We see people from all over the western part of North Dakota, keeping patients closer to home.”

For more information on Sanford Children’s services in Bismarck, visit bismarck.sanfordhealth.org/kids.

Justin Horner, MD, pediatric cardiologist, treats Kylie Brew in Bismarck. Kylie’s parents, Zach (bottom left, holding Kylie) and Lisa (right) are happy to receive the care close to home.

Parag Kumar, MDPediatrician


Matt Sperry saw his two young sons developing his same sedentary habits, and it helped spur him to action.

“They’d come home from school or day care and immediately go turn the TV on and sit down,” Sperry said. “I realized that’s because that’s what I did.”

Those behaviors started to change in October when Sperry underwent gastric bypass surgery at Sanford Health in Bismarck. Sperry’s wife, Kristen, had her own gastric bypass in December. Combined, the couple have shed 195 pounds in that short time frame, and the healthy choices Matt and Kristen now make post-operation have trickled down to their children.

Matt took up rollerblading, and he started Taekwondo lessons with his 5-year-old son, Jackson. The family, which also includes 3-year-old Jonathan, spends far more time outside being active, including taking family bike rides along the Missouri River.

“If I mentioned a bike ride or rollerblading to Matt before, it’d be like having a third child having a temper tantrum,” said Kristen, who found it difficult to promote an active lifestyle previously with Matt being reluctant. “It’s easier if you can do it as a family together rather than leaving one behind.”

For Matt, the decision to have weight-loss surgery came after he was diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. He tried to lose weight through exercise and improved diet, and he did drop significant weight. He hit a plateau 100 pounds above his goal weight, though, which led to frustration.

With his weight back up to 341 pounds, he asked his doctor about weight-loss surgery.

FAMILY TIME NOW

MEANS FIT TIME

Parents see significant results following

weight-loss surgery


Continued on page 10

Matt and Kristen Sperry and their sons, Jackson and Jonathan, keep active as a family since Matt and Kristen had weight-loss surgery. The two have dropped 195 pounds combined from before the surgeries (below).

FAMILY TIME NOW MEANS FIT TIMEcontinued from page 8

Bree Dewing, MDWeight-loss surgeon


“The lowest weight I could get to on my own still had me being a candidate for surgery,” Matt said of his earlier weight-loss attempt.

Seven months following his procedure, Matt, 32, has lost 120 pounds, with his goal weight being 185 pounds, and his diabetes is now under control.

Kristen’s weight slowly reached a point of concern, and, ultimately, she experienced a spike in her blood pressure—particularly during her pregnancies. She has a family history of high blood pressure, and she didn’t want to rely on pills to keep her blood pressure in check.

When the 34-year-old had her procedure, her weight was up to 266 pounds, and she has lost 75 pounds since. Her blood pressure now is right in the middle of the healthy range, and chronic back pain she had experienced has subsided.

Bree Dewing, MD, the Sanford Health weight-loss surgeon who performed both procedures, knew the Sperrys were good candidates for surgery after meeting with them. Patients must see surgery as a tool—not a magic solution—for weight loss to complement healthy eating and increased exercise. The fact Matt and Kristen went through the process together provided an added bonus.

“It helps a lot with the diet and exercise, and it provides added motivation,” Dr. Dewing said. “It really drives them—particularly with the exercise.”

If they have questions, Matt and Kristen know the weight-loss team at Sanford Health is always available.

“There are things you just don’t think about that come up in your daily life that you don’t think to ask in the doctor’s office,” Matt said. “It’s been really nice to know that I can just call over there when I need to.”

The couple also regularly attend a weight-loss surgery support group at Sanford Health to help stay on track.

Both Matt and Kristen work for the North Dakota Department of Transportation, and they both spend a lot of time in the field at various locations throughout construction season. This year has been easier for both of them given their weight loss, as they can move around better and feel fewer aches and pains in their backs and legs.

They also are far more active as a family, which will help their children develop healthy habits. Kristen has noticed another perk, as well.

“It’s nice to be able to go to the store and not have to shop in a different section for clothes,” she said. “You can just buy stuff off the rack.”

Sanford Health holds monthly weight-loss surgery information sessions in Bismarck. To attend one of the free sessions, call (701) 323-5300. For more on weight-loss surgery, including requirements patients must meet to be eligible, visit bismarck.sanfordhealth.org/weightlosssurgery.


Opening July 8

Attention princes and princesses:

The castle awaits you

Sanford Health is excited to announce the opening of the new Sanford Children’s North Clinic, a Castle of Care, on July 8. This clinic is located at 765 W. Interstate Avenue in Bismarck, near Pinehurst Square. As a Castle of Care, the Sanford Children’s North Clinic is a vibrant, colorful place where children from birth to age 18 can be comfortable and find inspiration, imagination and play to help them heal. To schedule an appointment 8 a.m.–5 p.m. Monday through Friday, call (701) 323-3700 or request an appointment online at bismarck.sanfordhealth.org. Sanford Children’s continues to offer services 8 a.m.–5 p.m. by appointment, and 8 a.m.–8 p.m. for walk-in service, Monday through Friday, at the Sanford Children’s Downtown Clinic within the Q&R Tower at 222 North Seventh Street.

Come see us at our new location

beginning July 8Join us 5–6:30 p.m. Tuesday, July 9, for a tour of the new clinic, to say “hi” to Meddy Bear and enjoy a snack.

Open House

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765 W. Interstate Ave., Bismarck, ND 58503

Parag Kumar, MDPediatrician

Katherine Klein, MDPediatrician

Sara Reinke, MDPediatrician

Melissa Seibel, MDPediatrician

Mark Doerner, PhDPsychologist

Amber Caster, PNPPediatric Nurse Practitioner

Non-Profit OrganizationU.S. Postage

P A I DPermit No. 187Bismarck, ND

ADDRESS LABEL GOES HERE

6.13 CRV-CRV-815

Sanford300 N. Seventh St.Bismarck, ND 58501

Sanford Health welcomes Steven Bock, MD,a board-certified surgeon who specializes in weight-loss procedures.

As a weight-loss surgeon, Dr. Bock performs weight-loss surgery, a procedure for qualified obese patients to achieve significant weight loss. He is a member of the American College of Surgeons and the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery.

Medical education: New York University School of Medicine

General surgery internship and residency: SUNY Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, N.Y.

Surgical oncology fellowship: National Cancer Institute, Bethesda, Md.

Board certification: American Board of Surgery

Request an appointment with Dr. Brock at Sanford Clinic in the Q&R Tower by calling (701) 323-5300 or by visiting bismarck.sanfordhealth.org.

June 2013

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