Lee CoLLegeEMT training revived through workforce development center

Profiles 2017

Special Supplementto The Baytown Sun

WHAT’S INSIDE

health

our futurebuilding

Patients eR ‘We love giving back’

Rio WoRkLocal physician treats Olympic athletes

Allied Health Careers Enrolling Now at Lee College!Lee College Center for Workforce and Community Development

For info or registra� oninforma� on!> 281-425-6311> workforce@lee.edu> www.lee.edu/workforce/

EMS Continuing Education for Individuals and Industry (pending DSHS approval)Continue your EMS training with high quality professional development that is relevant, new and innovative. Attendees whosuccessfully complete the requirements of the classes, will receive continuing education hours that will help fulfi ll national and state CE requirements for recertifi cation.

EMT Training Coming Soon -- Here’s What You Need To Know!Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) Class The EMT basic course is designed for anyone interested in working in public safety, including fi re, police, and ambulance operations. The course work and hands on experience are designed to prepare students to administer care in emergency situations. (Currently offered at the Lee College Education Center of South Liberty County. Coming Soon to Baytown!)

Emergency Medical Responder (EMR, ECA, First Responder) The primary focus of the Emergency Medical Responder is to initiate immediate lifesaving care to critical patients who access the emergency medical system. This individual possesses the basic knowledge and skills necessary to provide lifesaving interventions while awaiting additional EMS response and to assist higher level personnel at the scene and during transport.

The state-of-the-art renovation and expansion of Lee College’s McNulty-Haddick Nursing Center includes a remodel of the

current lab and simulation center that signifi cantly expands square footage and capacity. Also accompanying a long list of

improvements to the facility is the critical addition of a new pediatric wing and three new lab spaces for allied health and nursing

courses.

New construction expansion adds approximately 20,000 square feet and includes a 90-seat, auditorium style lecture hall,

faculty offi ces, a student computer center and student access area. Construction is scheduled for completion in late fall of 2017.

The renovation of the McNulty-Haddick Nursing Center is part of Lee College’s ongoing effort to support

our commitment to our students and the community we serve.

McNulty-Haddick Nursing CenterRenovations Slated for fall 2017Completion.

www.lee.edu aa/eeo

Some courses currently o� ered atthe Lee College Education Centerof South Liberty County. Callnow for more information!

Thursday, March 9, 2017 The Baytown Sun 3HealtH

BY CHRISTOPHER JAMES While thousands of athletes

participated in the 2016 sum-mer Olympic games in Rio, one Baytown physical thera-pist was behind the scenes, en-suring that those international athletes were competing at the highest levels.

Dr. Maulik Pancholi, who practices at Aerio Rehabili-tation off Garth Road, volun-teered his services at the Rio Olympics, where he treated in-ternational athletes in boxing, track and field, handball and basketball.

“It was a volunteer physical therapy position and it was an amazing experience working with all the international ath-

letes that got injured and came to our outpatient polyclinic,” Dr. Pancholi said. “So I worked about three weeks there and it was just a wonderful experi-ence.”

Dr. Pancholi was one of about 5,000 healthcare provid-ers selected to volunteer at the Rio Olympics, which included specialty medical doctors, chi-ropractors, message therapists, osteopaths and physical thera-pists.

And only about 3 percent of international volunteer phys-ical therapists were chosen to work at the Olympic games on-site, and in an outpatient poly-clinic that was managed by the Olympic committee.

“I worked with the athlete Mohammed Rabii; he’s from Morocco and competed in the 69 kilogram (boxing) category. So I had to treat him before and after his game,” said Dr. Pan-choli. “One day he came and told me that his hip was hurt-ing and his back was hurting. So I had to watch his game, previously recorded boxing matches, to figure out exactly where he was having issues. I had to watch his videos to get the conclusion that this is the area where he was having is-sues, and I would work with him before and after matches all the time.”

Rabii won the bronze med-al in the welterweight 69-ki-logram boxing division at the 2016 Olympics in Rio.

But when Dr. Pancholi wasn’t working, he was enjoy-ing everything Rio had to offer.

“Rio was fantastic. They ac-tually had stalls in the Olympic village so we could go and do day trips ourselves,” said Dr.

Pancholi. “So I enrolled with them and they took me to the Christ Redeemer and we went trekking in communities along the hill areas. It was an ex-tremely interesting, beautiful experience, and Brazil is a very multicultural country.”

“In enjoyed Brazil and nev-er experienced any of the bad stuff that was in the news,” he added.

Back in 2014, Dr. Pancholi applied to be an Olympic phys-ical therapist, which involved a background check, interviews, a series of online modules, group discussion, multiple skill checks and online quizzes.

For 16 years, Dr. Pancholi has practiced physical thera-

py, and during that time he has volunteered for three Olympic games, Rio being the third. Pri-or to Rio, he served at the Bei-jing Olympics in 2008, London Olympics in 2012 and plans to be at the 2020 Olympics in To-kyo, which he has already been approved for.

He was also invited to go to Athens in 2004 but was getting married that same week and was unable to attend.

However, Rio was the first time he was considered a phys-ical therapist instead of an as-sistant.

“At that time (in London and Beijing) I didn’t have 15 years experience, so they gave me a different position where I

could help but I couldn’t touch the athletes. But I was involved and was helping them organiz-ing different things at the poly-clinic,” said Dr. Pancholi. “I was an assistant PT in London and Beijing. This time (in Rio) they put me under the liability insurance of IOC, which is In-ternational Olympic Commit-tee, so I could touch and work with athletes without any ten-sion.”

But when he’s not at an Olympic game, he practices right here in Baytown. Since 2009, Dr. Pancholi has worked at Aerio Rehab, 910 N. High-way 146, suite A, where he has worked with thousands of pa-tients.

Physician treated Olympic athletes in Rio ‘Amazing experience working with all the international athletes’

Dr. Maulik Pancholi takes a selfie with members of the 2016 Swedish soccer team day before the Olympic semifinals against Brazil. Sweden earned a silver, falling 2-1 to Germany in the gold medal game.

Dr. Maulik Pancholi with Moroccan boxer Mohammed Rabii during the 2016 summer Olympic games in Rio. Rabii won a bronze medal in the welterweight division.

4 The Baytown Sun Thursday, March 9, 2017HealtH

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Today, The Baytown Sun presents Pro-files 2017, a celebration of the communi-ty assets that make the greater Baytown area a treasure. Today’s Health edition is the first of four installments in our Pro-files 2017 series.

Next week, we’ll examine Education &

Business followed by the Industry edition and then the final week we’ll unveil the 2017 Citizen of the Year.

On the cover ... Medical Intervention students in Lo-

raine Zuniga’s health science class at Ross S. Sterling High School learn about contracting muscles in order to find out how to operate a myoelectric arm. From left are Fatima Rebollar and Marianna Sanchez. See story on Page 7.

Welcome to Profiles 2017

Your HOMETOWN ERIS GROWING!

PH: (281) 576-055510133 Interstate 10 East, Baytown, Texas 77521

We’re expanding to BettER serve you!• Doubling the number of beds for active patients• More specialty areas to increase the opportunities to utilize our entire facility• Increasing the number of observation rooms to serve more patients in our facility.

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6 The Baytown Sun Thursday, March 9, 2017HealtH

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Physical Therapy | Aquatic Therapy | Wellness | Massage TherapyOur physical therapist, Courtney Zink, achieved her Bachelor’s degree in Clinical Health Professions from UT Arlington in 2012. She obtained her Doctorate of Physical Therapy from UTMB Galveston in 2015.

Courtney has comprehensive clinical experience and education within the realm of diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment of orthopedic and sports injuries, post-operative care and rehabilitation, and neurological dysfunction.

At Rehabilitation Services, Courtney will help you determine your goals and treatment program. She will aide in attaining your physical goals on an individu-al basis, at a pace that is comfortable to you.

COURTNEY ZINK, DPTPhysical Therapist

4 Locations To Serve You

2202 S Main StAnahuac, TX 77514Phone: (409) 267-3700

3818 Decker DrBaytown, TX 77520Phone: (281) 424-7557

1353 N Travis StLiberty, TX 77575Phone: (936) 336-7316

9825 Eagle DrMont Belvieu, TX 77523Phone: (409) 267-3700

Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital

BY ROD EVANSWhether you’re an elite athlete, week-

end warrior or simply looking for re-lief from common joint pain, Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Med-icine provides world-class expertise to help you return to an active lifestyle.

Along with serving hundreds of area high schools and youth teams, including the Goose Creek CISD, Houston Meth-odist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine is the official health care provider for the Houston Texans, Houston Astros, Houston Dynamo, Houston Dash, Rice University Athletics, RodeoHouston, Houston Symphony, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet and Lee College.

The specialists at Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital—one of Houston Methodist’s six centers of orthopedic excellence—include skilled orthopedic surgeons, primary care sports medicine physicians, physical and occupational therapists and athletic trainers who use the latest technology to deliver excep-tional care to patients with musculo-skeletal injuries or disorders.

Some of the most frequently per-formed surgical procedures include re-pairing rotator cuff disorders and per-forming hip and knee replacements. Rotator cuff disease is one of the most common musculoskeletal disorders in

the U.S. According to the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, more than 200,000 Americans require shoulder surgery related to repair of the rotator cuff each year, with over half of those patients over age 65.

“A lot of people are under the percep-tion that rotator cuff injuries are some-thing that happens to athletes when, in fact, it’s not. It mostly happens to the average person,” said Dr. Mark Frank-lin, an orthopedic surgeon at Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital. “It’s part of the degenerative process that we start to see emerging in people 55 years old and up.”

Rest, applying ice, taking anti-inflam-matory medications and physical thera-py can be used to initially treat many of these injuries, but in the case of a tear, surgery may be required.

Arthroscopic surgery is the most com-mon form of surgery, but Franklin said open shoulder surgery is sometimes re-quired for more severe tears.

According to the U.S. National Cen-ter for Health Statistics, the number of hip replacement surgeries in the U.S. has more than doubled over the past 15 years to about 310,000 surgeries per year.

The number of procedures has in-creased by over 200 percent in people

Expertise to speed return to active lifestyleMost frequent surgeries: repairing rotator cuff disorders and performing hip and knee replacements

ages 45 to 54 and by more than 92 per-cent in patients age 75 and older.

Advances in hip replacement surgical techniques and implant materials are giving new hope to millions of Amer-icans suffering from chronic hip pain. Procedures such as the anterior hip re-placement are helping patients return to their active lifestyles much quicker than before.

“The actual implants themselves have improved tremendously in the last five to 10 years and we are now able to perform minimally invasive hip re-placement surgeries with much smaller incisions,” said Dr. Karthik Jonna, an orthopedic surgeon at Houston Meth-odist San Jacinto Hospital.

The AAOS estimates that 4.5 million Americans are living with at least one total knee replacement, while more than

650,000 knee replacement surgeries are performed in the U.S. each year. Frank-lin says advances in knee replacement materials and surgical techniques are also helping more people return to their active lifestyles quicker and with less post-operative pain.

Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine supports local athletes as well by annually hosting the Student Pre-Participation Physicals program for Goose Creek CISD students inter-ested in participating in extracurricular school activities.

The Houston Methodist Orthopedics & Sports Medicine physicians at Hous-ton Methodist San Jacinto Hospital bring decades of experience to the mis-sion of helping you get back to enjoying your life to the fullest. For more infor-mation, call 281-427-7400.

Thursday, March 9, 2017 The Baytown Sun 7HealtH

BY BETH DOMBROWAThe Smith family has a troubling medical

history, ranging from bacterial meningitis to chronic asthma to osteosarcoma. On top of their medical issues, Mrs. Smith became pregnant later in life, adding to the family of four; thankfully, baby Carter was born healthy. While the Smiths may be a fictional family, their medical misfortunes are very real to the juniors in the Medical Interven-tion class in the Health Science Academy at Ross. S. Sterling High School.

Throughout the year, junior students, who were the first group to enter the Health Science Academy three years ago, follow a Project Lead the Way Curriculum in the Medical Intervention Class, taught by Loraine Zuniga. They started the school year learning about the Smith family and through project-based lessons and exten-sive research, explore ways to prevent, treat and possibly even cure the Smiths’ medical issues.

“Just before the start of the semester, Mike Smith learned he had osteosarcoma, and, because his cancer was spreading, his arm had to be amputated,” said Zuniga. “The students had to learn about therapies for amputees, and build a workable pros-thetic arm for Mike Smith out of household items.”

In another scenario, Mrs. Smith learned she was pregnant. Students researched the risks associated with later-in-life pregnan-cies, as well as genetic testing.

By learning about the Smiths’ challeng-es and seeking ways to help them through their illnesses, students develop empathy for the fictional family.

“We have conversations about ethics in medicine, and what choices would the students make if they were faced with the same problems,” said Zuniga. “For ex-

ample, would they get genetic testing if it could tell them they may possibly get sick in the future, even if they currently have no symptoms? Or, would they get tested if they knew they might develop a problem down the road that their insurance might not cov-er?”

In the class, students do extensive re-search on the Smiths’ various ailments, and learn about clinical trials that might one day benefit the family. They also discuss how lifestyle choices can lead to health prob-lems, as well as current interventions relat-ed to immunology, surgery, genetics, phar-macology, medical devices and diagnostics. students explore and develop interventions of the future.

All students in the Medical Intervention class are part of the Health Science Acad-emy, and most have aspirations to pursue a career in the medical field. In fact, several students, in addition to their coursework, also choose to do clinicals, rotations and practicums to earn a certification that will make them work-ready as soon as they graduate or even before.

“Most of the students plan to continue their medical studies, but certifications al-low them to work in their chosen field while they are in college and medical school. Some of these kids will work as pharmacy technicians, for example, while they are in college,” said Zuniga.

By the end of the course, students will have developed an extensive Smith fami-ly tree, complete with parents, cousins and other family members. The goal is to map their medical history to get a better under-standing of their risk factors. It’s these kind of assignments, said Zuniga, that allow to-day’s students to participate in future ther-apies and interventions that can save lives and help more people live healthier lives.

Sterling High School health science students learning to save the Smiths

Medical misfortunes beset fictional family

Christopher Amencua, left, shows fellow Medial Intervention student Jazmine Nugent a prosthetic hand he created with straws and string. Both students are in Loraine Zuniga’s health science class at Ross S. Sterling High School. They are learning about how to create prosthetic arms and how muscles contract to be able to handle com-plex medical cases.

Baytown Sun photos by Matt Hollis

Medical Intervention students in Loraine Zuniga’s health science class at Ross S. Ster-ling High School learn about contracting muscles in order to find out how to operate a myoelectric arm. From left are Ivana Cabreles and Cassandra Valdez.

8 The Baytown Sun Thursday, March 9, 2017HealtH

BY MATT HOLLISGetting urgent care in

Baytown is right around the corner with Patients Emergen-cy Room.

They treat chest pains, ab-dominal pains, head injuries, abscesses, pediatric fever, lac-erations, sprains, provide dig-ital X-rays, and CT scans all while remaining open 24/7.

The urgent care center was opened in 2014 by two Lee College alumni, Jonathan Bo-hannon and Jeanne Shipp. Now, it is one of the busiest freestanding ERs in Texas.

Patients ER spokeswoman Ashley Shibley said there are more exciting things coming on the horizon for Patients ER. This includes doubling the size of the Baytown location.

“The expansion will also double our size so we can provide better care for our pa-tients,” Shibley said.

Shibley said they have also installed a helipad capable of holding two UH-60 Black Hawk helicopters.

“We put this in to help any-one in the community who may need it, saving crucial minutes in critical situations,” she said.

In January, Patients ER was one of two urgent care facilities to donate $10,000 to go toward raising funds for the funeral ex-penses of three young men who died tragically. Spencer Hall, 19, of Cove, Starett Burk, 25, of Wallisville, and Christian Rickman, 18, of Dayton died after going on a duck-hunting trip near Carancahua Bay.

Shibley said that some of the funds they donated to the hunt-er’s families went to purchase 100 devices to young hunters

in the community.“The devices are placed

in the pocket and if they hit the water, they notify people immediately,” Shibley said. “These devices can save lives.”

Shibley said that Patients ER also donated annually to both education foundations at Goose Creek CISD and Bar-bers Hill ISD.

“We love giving back to the school, churches, children and organizations in our communi-ty,” Shibley said. “We appreci-ate all of our patients and sup-porters.”

At the recent 32nd annual West Chambers County Cham-ber of Commerce Awards Ban-

quet, Patients ER was the re-cipient of the 2016 Business of the Year Award.

West Chambers County Chamber of Commerce Pres-ident Missy Malechek spoke on why the urgent care center is separate from the rest of the pack.

“I think the most enduring this is the fact they save peo-ple’s lives,” Malechek said. “I’ve heard lots of other sto-ries from people who say the same thing. I know personally, they saved my brother’s life. Those are the things they are supposed to do. They are also always willing to listen and put their money where it makes

sense the most. And their val-ues are closely aligned with our community.”

Malechek said people can al-ways count on excellent care if they have to go to Patients ER.

“You never have to wait and are made to feel at home when you are in a horrible situation,” she said.

Malechek said Patients ER’s support for Barbers Hill ISD is another feather in their cap.

“The things they do that helps children are doing, whether it is the Fun Run, or anything sup-porting healthy lifestyles, they step up first and are the loud-est,” Malechek said. “A lot of it has to do with the fact they are

locally owned. That they can and have latitude and how they choose to support the commu-nity and some corporations do not have that or are that inter-ested in doing that.”

Malechek said that Patients ER was instrumental in helping bring about a new scoreboard at Eagle Field. It is a Daktron-ics LED Universal Video dis-play scoreboard that measures 43-feet, 6-inches wide and 24-feet and 3-inches high.

“They saw the value in that instantly,” Malechek said.

Patients ER is located at 10133 Interstate 10. They can be reached at 281-576-0555.

www.PatientsER.com

Patients ER: ‘We love giving back’West Chambers County Chamber of Commerce Business of the Year

Patients ER was named the 2016 Business of the Year at the West Chambers County Chamber of Commerce Awards Banquet. From left are Jonathan Bohannon, Jeanne Shipp, Ashley Shibley, WCCCC President Missy Malechek and Whitley Dorsett.

Sunday, March 9, 2017 The Baytown Sun 9HealtH

10 The Baytown Sun Thursday, March 9, 2017HealtH

Thursday, March 9, 2017 The Baytown Sun 13HealtH

BY MARTI COVINGTONThough they have varied

goals for their lives and ca-reers after completing the Lee College EMT program, the stu-dents now training for positions on the front line of emergency medical care share a powerful common bond: the deep desire to serve their communities by helping people in need.

“I want to be able to save lives,” said Makenzie Lowery, an aspiring paramedic who volunteered to act as a patient during a recent class at the Lee College Education Center – South Liberty County.

The EMT program, which is offered through the Center for Workforce and Community Development and also includes a track for emergency medi-cal responders, was revived in February after earning approv-al from the Texas Department of State Health Services in De-cember.

As the patient in EMT in-structor John Melton’s exer-cise, Lowery laid down on a professional-grade stretcher while her classmates pulled on blue latex gloves and slipped a backboard underneath her. They fixed an orange collar around her head and neck, strapped her into a spider web harness and counted off before lifting the stretcher into a full-size box ambulance simulator in the corner of the classroom.

The simulator includes flashing exterior lights and is designed and stocked with supplies found in real-life am-bulances. Melton said that in his nearly 30-year teaching career, Lee College is the first institution he has seen that provides EMT students with such advanced equipment for

hands-on learning. Patient as-sessment, basic airway man-agement, bandaging and splint-ing, bleeding control and spinal immobilization are among the skills students must master to care for people experiencing a medical or traumatic emergen-cy.

“EMTs carry a big job,” said Melton, a licensed para-medic for nearly two decades. “They make sure vital signs are OK and they keep the patient breathing, which is essential to keeping the patient alive.”

The EMT program at Lee College includes 144 hours of classroom instruction and 80

hours of rotations in clinical and ambulance settings. The curriculum often requires stu-dents to practice scenarios sim-ilar to those they could find in the field, said Jay Cloud, pro-gram director and a licensed paramedic for 34 years.

“Medicine is very dynamic and in the past 15 years, EMS has changed a lot,” said Cloud, who estimates he has taught more than 2,800 paramedics over the course of his career and emphasizes the importance of critical thinking. “Our students have to demonstrate competen-cy in all areas. They must show they can manage a patient from

first contact through simulated intervention at the hospital. No matter how tragic or traumatic the situation, EMTs learn to fo-cus on what needs to be done.”

Students who complete the EMT program are prepared to take the National Registry Assessment Exam to earn cer-tification as an EMT-Basic, which qualifies them for en-try-level positions responding to emergency calls, providing immediate care to the critically ill or injured and transporting patients to medical facilities. Students also need EMT-Ba-sic certification to move up to careers as an Advanced EMT,

EMT-Paramedic or Licensed Paramedic.

The EMR track includes 64 total hours and trains students to provide immediate life-sav-ing care until additional med-ical services can arrive. Some first responders are employed at plants or industrial com-panies that operate their own EMS on site.

“There is always a demand for EMS personnel,” said Cloud, who is also the para-medic supervisor for Deer Park Fire and EMS and has seen the number of full-time crews there double in the last year, in addition to increased hires of part-time staff.

After helping the college earn state approval for the EMT program for the first time in 10 years, EMT/Fire Science Program Manager Michael Cooper is now shepherding the program through the process of earning national accreditation. A medic herself since 1981 with 911 service for 20 years and eight years of experience as a Life Flight paramedic, she has also spent many years in EMS education and looks for-ward to the growth of the EMT program at Lee College.

“A good EMT is someone who cares about people and can adapt to different envi-ronments and circumstances,” Cooper said. “Every scene, every house, every call is dif-ferent. Improvise, adapt and overcome – it’s part of doing the job. Your patients trust you, and you know that. It gets in your blood.”

For more information about the EMT program, contact the Center for Workforce and Community Development at 281-425-6311.

Lee College back to training future EMTsRevived program offered through the Center for Workforce & Community Development

Students in the Lee College EMT program practice loading classmate Makenzie Lowery, acting as a patient on a stretcher, into the full-size box ambulance simulator located inside the classroom at the Lee College Education Center – South Liberty County. The college revived the EMT program, offered through the Center for Workforce and Community Development, in February after earning state approval to again train students for careers on the front line of emergency medical services. Also pictured, from left, Hayley Bosarge, Chris Daniel, Tricia McQueen and Dillon Danek.

14 The Baytown Sun Thursday, March 9, 2017HealtH

Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital

BY ROD EVANSPelvic pain can occur at any point

in a person’s life, but it’s much more typical in women following a pelvic surgery, such as a hysterectomy or a cesarean section, and is much more common than you might believe.

Dr. Paul Redman, a native of Baytown who earlier this year joined the medical staff of Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital as an obstetrics and gynecology physi-cian, says contrary to popular belief, pelvic problems aren’t specific to females. Redman also treats bowel and bladder conditions, pelvic organ prolapse, incontinence, sexual dys-function and pelvic muscular issues in both men and women.

Pelvic pain is best described as pain located in the lowest part of your abdomen and pelvis. Depend-ing on its source, pelvic pain can be dull or sharp; it might be constant or intermittent; and it might be mild, moderate or severe. Pelvic pain can sometimes radiate to your lower back, buttocks or thighs. Some peo-ple might notice pelvic pain only at certain times, such as when they uri-nate or during sexual activity.

Specialized physical therapy is very effective in treating pelvic pain, but Redman says that patients often turn to it as a last resort. “They may have been treated unsuccessfully with surgery, medication and even narcotic pain medication,” Redman said. “But some patients see im-provements in their pain after just one session, though the average is six to eight weeks of weekly visits.”

What to Expect Pelvic floor physical therapy ses-

sions usually last about 45 minutes, though the initial evaluation takes about an hour. At the first appoint-ment, Redman reviews the patient’s

medical and person-al history, discuss-ing their symptoms, when they started and whether they’ve pro-gressed or worsened. “I want to understand all I can about how this person’s condition affects his or her life,”

Redman said.Next, Redman typically performs

a vaginal or rectal pelvic floor mus-cle exam. “That’s currently the gold standard of setting a baseline of the pelvic floor muscles,” Redman said. “When a patient has pain, I can identify the muscles that are causing pain and assess their strength and coordination.”

The rest of the session, and sub-sequent sessions, consists of edu-cation, exercises, coordination and biofeedback, which uses sensors and electrodes to get an objective representation of a patient’s muscle activity. Redman also does hands-on therapy to reduce muscle spasm and pain, and to improve joint mobility.

Between sessions, most patients are encouraged to continue their physical therapy at home, but Red-man’s philosophy is to make any “homework” realistically fit into their schedule.

Easing Embarrassment “I understand how private and em-

barrassing these problems can be,” Redman said. “I’m very passionate about what I do. There is hope and there is help, and these problems are often very treatable through physi-cal therapy.”

To learn more about treatment op-tions available at Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital and to schedule an appointment with one of our phy-sicians, call 281-428-2273.

BY ROD EVANSYou’ve tried every diet out there;

some of them more than once. You’ve stepped up your exercise game and even tried unorthodox approaches like acu-puncture, but despite your best efforts, shedding weight—and keeping it off—remains a big hurdle.

Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hos-pital’s new Weight Loss Center could offer the help you’ve been looking for in the search to lose weight and improve your health. Under the direction of bar-iatric surgeon Dr. Laura Choi, the center offers not only several weight loss sur-gery options, but also medical nutrition-al counseling to assist you in achieving your weight loss goals.

Morbid obesity can contribute to the onset of numerous potentially serious health conditions, including high blood pressure, diabetes, heart disease and high cholesterol, but thanks to advance-ments in techniques, bariatric surgery—in concert with making positive lifestyle changes—has become an effective step toward losing weight and improving overall health for thousands of Ameri-cans.

“Technology has made the procedures safer and less invasive. We also offer comprehensive after-care programs, fo-cusing on nutrition, counseling and ex-ercise to help you deal with the physical and emotional changes,” Choi said.

According to the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery, between 2011 and 2013, more than 500,000 Americans had weight loss, or bariatric, surgery.

Patients whose Body Mass Index is in the morbid obesity range (40 or above) are eligible for bariatric surgery.

Patients whose BMI is in the 35-40 range are eligible as well if they have existing medical conditions considered to be caused by or associated with mor-bid obesity.

Bariatric surgery works by restricting the amount of food you can eat and/or changing the route food takes through your body so that less food is absorbed.

Learning about weight loss surgery and discuss-ing it with your doctor is the first step in determin-ing whether it’s right for you. Research suggests successful weight loss surgery can help you live longer, and it may help send type 2 diabetes into

remission.Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospi-

tal offers several weight loss surgery op-tions, including gastric bypass surgery, also called a roux-en-Y procedure. In this surgery, a surgeon staples off part of the stomach, leaving only a small pouch that will hold just a few ounces of food.

The digestive track is then redirected so it bypasses the upper small intestine, resulting in fewer calories being ab-sorbed.

“The procedure is performed laparo-scopically, which requires only small incisions, rather than a large open inci-sion. It has also been shown to improve type 2 diabetes in approximately 90 per-cent of patients,” Choi said.

The Lap-Band System offers a shorter surgery, as the intestines are not surgi-cally redirected. It involves an adjust-able band being placed laparoscopically around the upper stomach to produce a smaller stomach. It creates a full feeling faster and causes food to digest slower.

So which surgery is right for you? Gastric bypass may be the best option if you have a BMI greater than 40, you suffer from a severe obesity-related con-dition and are otherwise healthy enough to withstand the surgery.

LAP-BAND may be the better option if you want a shorter, less invasive sur-gery, have a BMI between 35 and 39 and suffer from an obesity-related condition, such as diabetes, high blood pressure or high cholesterol.

To schedule a consultation with a phy-sician at Houston Methodist San Jacinto Hospital’s Weight Management Center and to learn more about weight loss sur-gery options, call 281-428-2273.

DR. REDMAN

DR. CHOI

Physical therapy offers relief for pelvic pain

Hospital center provides weight loss management

Thursday, March 9, 2017 The Baytown Sun 15

BY CHRISTOPHER JAMES It will soon be National Poi-

son Prevention week, which was first established in 1961 by the U.S. Congress to raise awareness about the dangers of poisonings and how to actively prevent them from happening.

To better understand the threats of unintentional poison-ing, we talked with Dr. Antonio Bueso at Neighbors Emergen-cy Center here in Baytown, since National Poison Preven-tion week is March 19-25.

“The poison centers across the U.S. receive a little over 2 million calls a year, and these calls, over 90 percent of those come from households. And then a good majority of them are for children, 5 years old and under,” Dr. Bueso said. “And each case can vary, it may be a household product, it may be a medication. And it could be anything that was inhaled, any-thing that came in contact with the skin, anything sprayed in the eyes or anything that was ingested.”

According to the Annual Re-port of the American Associa-tion of Poison Control Centers’ National Poison Data System, which was released in Decem-ber, it revealed that in 2015, a person called a poison center about human exposure every 14.5 seconds. America’s poi-son centers managed 2.8 mil-lion encounters, over 2 million of which are human exposure.

The NPDS also discovered that about 57 percent of all exposure cases involved phar-maceuticals. The most com-mon scenarios of unintention-al pharmaceutical exposures included inadvertent dou-ble-dosing (30 percent), wrong medication taken or given (17 percent), other incorrect dose

(14 percent), doses given/taken too close together (11 percent), and inadvertent exposure to someone else’s medication (8 percent). Other exposures were to household products, plants, mushrooms, pesticides, animal bites and stings, carbon mon-oxide and many other types of non-pharmaceutical substanc-es.

To help respond to uninten-tional poisonings, Dr. Bueso urges folks to add the poison help hotline number to their phones, which is 1-800-222-1222.

“Anyone can call them, they’re open 24 hours a day, every day of the year and there is always an expert in the poi-

son unit that can help answer and direct what patients should do,” he said.

According to the American Association of Poison Con-trol Centers, adults need to be aware of the risks involved with medication, household chemicals and carbon monox-ide. Adults must also be smart about storing household chem-icals out of the reach of chil-dren.

In terms of medication, only take prescription drugs that are prescribed to you by a health-care professional. Never take larger or more frequent doses of you medications, particu-larly prescription pain medi-cations, to try to get faster or

more powerful effects. And al-ways follow the directions on the label when you give or take medicines.

In terms of household chem-icals and carbon monoxide, keep chemical products in their original containers, never mix household products together, wear protective clothing and turn on a fan and open windows when using chemical products such as household cleaners.

“You might have situations when you have a carbon mon-oxide poising, which can occur with anything that has a com-bustible appliance — heaters in the home that are gas heaters, dryers that are gas dryers, auto-mobiles running in a closed en-

vironment,” Bueso said. “Car-bon monoxide is a odorless, tasteless gas that has no color and so it’s very hard to notice if that’s the situation. And ev-eryone should have working carbon monoxide alarm in their home.”

“Carbon monoxide takes the place of oxygen in your blood, and important organs are not getting oxygen for the regular metabolism,” he added.

To prevent children from get-ting poisoned, store all medica-tions and household products up and away and out of sight in a cabinet where children can-not reach. The same should be applied to household cleaners as well.

“As a doctor we dive into the unknown, and you’re trying to be a good detective in figuring out what is going on,” said Dr. Bueso. “You focus on the ba-sics first: vital signs, appear-ance and also time. Time can be very helpful.”

Dr. Bueso also mentioned the importance of being ready when calling the Poison Help-line. Individuals should be able to tell the expert:

• The person’s age and weight• Known health conditions

and problems• The product involved • How the product contact-

ed the person (for example, by mouth, by inhaling, through the skin, or through the eyes)

• How long ago the poison contacted the person

• What first aid was already given

• Weather the person has vomited

• Your exact location and how long it would to you to get to a hospital

For more information, visit www.aapcc.org.

Neighbors prepared for poison prevention ‘As a doctor we dive into the unknown, and you’re trying to be a good detective in figuring out what is going on’

In light of National Poison Prevention week being March 19-25, Baytown Neighbors Emergency Center physician Dr. Antonio Bueso urges folks to save the poison help hotline phone number in their phones, which is 1-800-222-1222.

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Anxiety is something that most peo-ple experience at least once in their life. The cause may be due to reasons such as feeling threatened, tense, or afraid. The body’s natural reaction to feeling threatened is to go into the fight-or-flight response. The problem is when one is unable to handle these feelings.

Anxiety symptoms differ from per-son to person. According to the Diag-nostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders 5th Edition, those symptoms may include: restlessness or feeling keyed-up or on-edge, fatigue, difficul-ty concentrating/mind going blank, ir-ritability, muscle tension, and/or sleep disturbance.

How do you know if you can han-dle anxiety on your own or need pro-fessional? According to the DSM-5 you should seek professional help if you have excessive anxiety and tend to worry about many different things such as work or school, with feelings that you find difficult to control, not

caused by other med-ical conditions, not caused by drugs or medications (either pre-scribed or abused), not better explained by an-other mental disorder, and, you experience three or more of the six symptoms listed above

regularly for six months (only one symptom for children).

Either a doctor or a licensed profes-sional counselor can diagnose anxiety. A licensed professional counselor will help you figure out what is causing your anxiety and identify ways for you to reduce it. A doctor can prescribe medication if necessary.

The Anxiety and Depression Associ-ation of America says that the follow-ing tips can be helpful when you begin to feel overly anxious. 1) Relax, listen to relaxing music or medicate; 2) Ex-ercise daily, check with your health-

care provider before beginning an ex-ercise program; 3) Take deep breaths and count to ten, repeat this step as necessary; 4) Get adequate sleep; 5) Eat well-balanced meals; 6) Put your anxiety into perspective – is the cause something that you can control? If “yes,” problem solve to find a solution. If “not,” realize that you cannot control everything; 7) learn what causes your anxiety and track any triggers – once a pattern is identified, can you change or modify the triggers, and 8) Talk to someone you trust about your con-cerns.

Try these techniques to see which ones work best for you. Remember it can take several months to incorporate these techniques into your daily life and make them habits. Once the tech-niques become habits you can more easily deal with your anxiety in a pro-ductive way.

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Anxiety: What is it and how can I make it better?

Thursday, March 9, 2017 The Baytown Sun 19HealtH

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