At MacNeal we’re not going green just for one day; in fact we have made numerous green improvements throughout the hospital that are focused on reducing our carbon footprint 365 days a year. Did you know that we have 10 water bottle filling stations installed across the hospital? Each station offers chilled and filtered water for patients, visitors and employees to fill up their bottles. At last count MacNeal has saved over 50,000 plastic bottles from landfills. We have also begun the process of switching to LED lighting, which is safer and more energy efficient, and we recently installed seven regenera- tive drive elevators, which creates a reduction in energy use by up to 70%. The elevators actually create power regeneration and feed energy back into the hospital’s internal electric system allowing it to be used in other locations of the hospital. And one more thing… we’re even composting our cafeteria food scraps, which diverts food waste from landfills and garbage disposals. Composting is nature’s unique process for recycling organic materials that produce a rich soil that can be used for things like enriching flower beds and gardens. I’m interested in learning how you and your family are getting healthy and going green. Please let me know by e-mailing [email protected]. I look forward to your reply. In good health, J. Scott Steiner Chief Executive Officer INSPIRING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2014 T ODAY HEALTHY LIVING Get Healthy! Go Green! Third Annual Family Walk & Health Fair Community members of all ages and abilities are invited to join MacNeal Hospital’s annual Get Healthy! Go Green! Family Walk & Health Fair on Saturday morning, August 23. Enjoy a 2.6-mile walk around historic Berwyn, and then stay for the fair, which will be held under a tent in MacNeal’s parking lot. Learn about ways to keep yourself, your family and the planet healthy – and have some fun, too. Get Healthy! The free fair will feature healthy snacks, an interactive live animal presentation, the Boogers kids’ band, face painting and more family friendly fun. Then proceed with MacNeal nurses and doctors who will conduct a variety of free health screenings including: blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose. Physicians will also be on hand to review results and answer health-related questions. Go Green! If you’re looking for a place to recycle some of those things that you’re not quite sure what to do with them... look no further. Bring the following items to recycle: • Outdated prescriptions and over-the- counter medications – but no narcotics, please. These will be disposed of safely so they don’t fall into the wrong hands or get in the water supply. • Electronics – including TVs, VCRs, old cell phones, computers, even microwave ovens! Last year, more than 7,800 pounds of “e-waste” were collected at the fair. • Mercury thermometers – Mercury is toxic and classified as hazardous waste, so mercury thermometers are being phased out. • Yard waste – leaves, grass clippings, etc. This will be turned into compost and used as fertilizer. • Batteries – no car batteries. • Household recycling – plastic, paper and metal, but no glass. Last year’s event brought in more than 5 tons of household waste! • Document shredding – now’s your chance to get rid of all those old papers. A document shredder will be on hand to make it easy. Walk kick-off and the fair will be held in MacNeal’s east parking lot on Euclid Avenue north of 34th Street. To register for the walk, please call (888) 622- 6325 or visit MacNeal.com. Each walker will receive a t-shirt and a goodie bag. Saturday, August 23 8:00 a.m. Family Walk Registration Opens 8:40 a.m. Family Walk Begins 9:30 a.m. Health Fair Opens (until Noon)
Transcript
At MacNeal we’re not going green just for one day; in fact we have made numerous green improvements throughout the hospital that are focused on reducing our carbon
footprint 365 days a year.
Did you know that we have 10 water bottle filling stations installed across the hospital? Each station offers chilled and filtered water for patients, visitors and employees to fill up their bottles. At last count MacNeal has saved over 50,000 plastic bottles from landfills.
We have also begun the process of switching to LED lighting, which is safer and more energy efficient, and we recently installed seven regenera-tive drive elevators, which creates a reduction in energy use by up to 70%. The elevators actually create power regeneration and feed energy back into the hospital’s internal electric system allowing it to be used in other locations of the hospital.
And one more thing… we’re even composting our cafeteria food scraps, which diverts food waste from landfills and garbage disposals. Composting is nature’s unique process for recycling organic materials that produce a rich soil that can be used for things like enriching flower beds and gardens.
I’m interested in learning how you and your family are getting healthy and going green. Please let me know by e-mailing [email protected]. I look forward to your reply.
In good health,
J. Scott SteinerChief Executive Officer
INSPIRING HEALTHY COMMUNITIES
AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2014
TODAYH E A LT H Y L I V I NG
Get Healthy! Go Green!Third Annual Family Walk & Health FairCommunity members of all ages and abilities are invited to join MacNeal Hospital’s annual Get Healthy! Go Green! Family Walk & Health Fair on Saturday morning, August 23. Enjoy a 2.6-mile walk around historic Berwyn, and then stay for the fair, which will be held under a tent in MacNeal’s parking lot. Learn about ways to keep yourself, your family and the planet healthy – and have some fun, too.
Get Healthy! The free fair will feature healthy snacks, an interactive live animal presentation, the Boogers kids’ band, face painting and more family friendly fun. Then proceed with MacNeal nurses and doctors who will conduct a variety of free health screenings including: blood pressure, cholesterol and glucose. Physicians will also be on hand to review results and answer health-related questions.
Go Green!If you’re looking for a place to recycle some of those things that you’re not quite sure what to do with them... look no further. Bring the following items to recycle:
• Outdated prescriptions and over-the-counter medications – but no narcotics, please. These will be disposed of safely so they don’t fall into the wrong hands or get in the water supply.
• Electronics – including TVs, VCRs, old cell phones, computers, even microwave ovens! Last year, more than 7,800 pounds of “e-waste” were collected at the fair.
• Mercury thermometers – Mercury is toxic and classified as hazardous waste, so mercury thermometers are being phased out.
• Yard waste – leaves, grass clippings, etc. This will be turned into compost and used as fertilizer.
• Batteries – no car batteries. • Household recycling – plastic, paper
and metal, but no glass. Last year’s event brought in more than 5 tons of household waste!
• Document shredding – now’s your chance to get rid of all those old papers. A document shredder will be on hand to make it easy.
Walk kick-off and the fair will be held in MacNeal’s east parking lot on Euclid Avenue north of 34th Street. To register for the walk, please call (888) 622- 6325 or visit MacNeal.com. Each walker will receive a t-shirt and a goodie bag.
Saturday, August 23
8:00 a.m.
Family Walk
Registration Opens
8:40 a.m.
Family Walk Begins
9:30 a.m.
Health Fair Opens
(until Noon)
Back to SchoolStart the School Year Off Right!
More back-to-school tips from MacNeal pediatricians:
Remind children not to share water bottles, drinking glasses and utensils – the perfect way to share germs.
Get your kids flu shots as soon as the vaccine is available.
Use the opportunity of a school physical to catch up on all vaccines – those that the school requires and others that your doctor recommends, such as HPV or Bacterial Meningitis vaccines.
Begin the transition to your child’s regular school-year bedtime ritual and sleep schedule at least two weeks before school starts.
What’s Cookin’ Brought to you by MacNeal’s Culinary Team
2 large ripe bananas
6 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons unsweetened apple juice
1 tablespoon unsalted butter
¼ teaspoon salt
2 cups plain 2% reduced-fat Greek yogurt
¼ cup chopped pecans, toasted
BANANAS FOSTER PARFAITDirections
1. Peel bananas, and cut each banana in half lengthwise. Cut each half into 3 pieces.
2. Combine sugar and next 3 ingredients in a nonstick skillet. Cook over medium-low heat 3 minutes or until sugar mixture begins to bubble. Add bananas to pan; cook 2 minutes or until bananas begin to soften.
3. Spoon ½ cup yogurt into the bottom of each of 4 parfait glasses. Divide banana mixture evenly among glasses. Top each serving with 1 tablespoon pecans.
Amid the excitement of back-to-school preparations, don’t forget about back-to-school health. Follow these tips from some of the pediatricians on the medical staff at MacNeal Hospital for keeping kids healthy throughout the school year.
Don’t skimp on sleep. “The brain needs time to rest,” says Yessenia Castro-Caballero, M.D. For children (and most adults!), she says, that means between eight and ten hours of sleep a night. A soothing before-bed ritual will help: all screens and phones turned off, a warm bath or shower, followed by a low-key talk with mom or dad. “Process anything scary and discuss the nice things that happened that day,” she says. “You want to end the day on a positive note.”
Head off head lice. Marc Freed, D.O., says that despite the introduction of many new treatments, there is still no simple way to get rid of head lice, and some of the most tried-and-true treatments are starting to show signs of resistance. The best things parents can do, he says, is to know the symptoms, treat the child early and, if lice reappear, try another treatment. Symptoms include itchy scalp; visible lice on the scalp, body or clothing; lice eggs (nits) on the hair shafts; and small red bumps on the scalp, neck and shoulders.
Immunize your child. “Vaccines have gone through years of rigorous safety trials and cannot cause the diseases they protect against,” says Jennifer Perez, M.D. “Furthermore, there are no studies that show any kind of link between vaccines and autism.” If you have concerns about vaccine safety, talk to your pediatrician, who can present you with the most current scientific evidence and dispel a lot of the rumors you hear. Dr. Perez also cautions against believing everything you read on the Internet. “A great source of accurate information is the American Academy of Pediatrics website,” she says.
Don’t skip breakfast. Jill Whitney, M.S., R.D.N., L.D.N., C.N.S.C., clinical nutrition manager, MacNeal’s head dietitian, reminds parents that a good breakfast sets children up for a good day. A healthy breakfast, according to Whitney, includes a complex carbohydrate for quick energy and a source of protein for sustained energy. Complex carbs include whole-grain breads, cereals, pancakes and waffles, as well as fresh fruit. Good sources of protein include eggs, cheese, meat, peanut butter, milk and yogurt. Try the Bananas Foster recipe below for a real breakfast treat.
If you’ve never experienced back pain, consider yourself lucky. The vast majority of people – around 80 percent – will have back pain at some point, and as the population continues to age, that number will continue to go up.
The spine consists of a column of bones (vertebrae) that surround and protect a cylinder of nerves (the spinal cord). Between each vertebra is a disk that acts as a kind of shock
absorber or cushion to protect them. This very complex, hardworking
mechanism keeps us stable enough to stand upright but also allows us to move.
Back pain can be caused by accidents, sports injuries, overuse, trauma… or for what seems like no reason at all. Often the cause is impossible to pinpoint. “Most people with back pain have underlying arthritis or degenerative changes that cause the symptoms,” says Tibor Boco, M.D., a neurological surgeon on MacNeal Hospital’s medical staff.
Back pain can also be difficult to treat. It often goes away on its own, or is relieved by over-the counter anti-inflammatory medication such as ibuprofen or acetaminophen.
Other nonsurgical treatments, like strengthening exercises, physical therapy and steroid injections, can be helpful. “Surgery for back pain is considered only after all other conservative treatment has failed to provide relief,” says Dr. Boco.
If nonsurgical treatments haven’t worked and your doctor suggests surgery, you might be a candidate for a minimally invasive procedure. “A lot of back surgery can now be performed using small incisions and a tiny video camera for viewing,” says Dr. Boco. These minimally invasive procedures hold big advantages for patients: minimal disruption to tissue, less bleeding, shorter lengths of stay in the hospital, and no need to be immobilized for weeks as was often the case in the past. Often, the patient can go home the same day.
Center for Advanced Spine and Joint CareMacNeal’s Center for Advanced Spine and Joint Care is a 20-bed unit where post- surgical inpatients receive multidisciplinary care from specially trained nurses, therapists and physicians. The Center’s approach consists of three core elements:
early patient education, a standardized plan of care with advanced
techniques in pain management, and a compassionate team of
caregivers to ensure continuity of care. Says Sonia Esparza, R.N.,
B.S.N., O.N.C., nurse manager. “The number-one
priority is to get the patients
up, walking around and
home.”
“Almost every man will have some kind of prostate problem if he lives long enough,” says Edward Kirsh, M.D., chairman of urology at MacNeal Hospital.
The prostate, a tiny walnut-shaped gland located below the bladder, naturally gets larger as men age, causing issues like slowing of the urinary stream, trouble starting to urinate and frequent visits to the bathroom.
Most often, those problems are caused by benign – noncancerous – prostate enlargement, and can be treated with medication or minimally invasive procedures. Each year, however, about 233,000 men are diagnosed with prostate cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Prostate cancer could require more aggressive treatment – radiation, cryotherapy (freezing the tumor) or surgical removal of the prostate.
The good news is that most men diagnosed with prostate cancer do not die from it. A simple screening blood test and/or prostate exam can point to the presence of the disease, so it can often be found early and treated effectively.
Experts disagree about when and how often men need to be screened. “In general, men 50 and over should discuss prostate testing with their primary care physician. Together, they can decide what is best for the patient,” says Dr. Kirsh. “Earlier screening may be considered for those who are at greater risk, which includes African-American men and those with a family history of prostate cancer in one or more relatives,” adds Dr. Kirsh.
“Keeping active and avoiding obesity are the best things you can do
for your back.”
National Prostate Cancer Awareness MonthS EPTEMBER ISS EPTEMBER IS
— Tibor Boco, M.D.
S EPTEMBER ISS EPTEMBER IS
Back Basics: The Causes and Treatment of Back Pain
AUG/SEPTSundays, Aug. 3 and Sept. 7, 8 a.m. Berwyn Township Farmers MarketLesak Park, next to Berwyn Public Health District, 6600 26th Street, BerwynStop by MacNeal’s booth for the latest information on upcoming programs and new services. During August, register for the Get Healthy! Go Green! Family Walk and receive a free gift.
Monday, Aug. 4 or Sept. 1, 7 a.m.Healthy Heart ScreeningMacNeal Hospital Outpatient Cardiology – Cardiac Rehab (near Giammanco entrance off Euclid Avenue)Free cholesterol (total, HDL, LDL, triglycerides), glucose and blood pressure screening and Body Mass Index calculation. No appointment necessary, but 12-hour fasting is required. For more information, call (708) 783-2005.
Wednesdays, Aug. 13 and Sept. 10, 2:15 p.m.Mended HeartsMacNeal Hospital, South Building, Basement, Room A/A1 (next to cafeteria) Peer-led support group for cardiac patients and their family members. For information, call Elsie Tobolaski at (708) 447-6058.
Tuesdays, Aug. 26 and Sept. 16, 5:30 p.m.Breast Cancer Support GroupMacNeal Hospital, South Building, Basement, Room A/A1 (next to cafeteria)A meeting space for patients, survivors and their loved ones. Also available in Spanish. For more information, call Shauna Gardino at (708) 783-2106.
Wednesdays, Aug. 20 and Sept. 17, 6 p.m.Wellness & Weight Management Information Sessions MacNeal Hospital, Center for Wellness & Weight Management (near Giammanco entrance off Euclid Avenue) Learn about weight loss options (medically supervised and surgical) to help you achieve measurable results. Registration is encouraged.
Saturday, Aug.16, 10 a.m. Mother Baby Resource Fair MacNeal Hospital, North Building, first floor, Staff RoomFor new moms, moms-to-be and women thinking about motherhood, come learn about the importance of proper health care before, during and after pregnancy – for you
Thursday, Sept.18, 9 a.m.Healthy Horizons Senior GroupBerwyn Public Safety Center, 6401 W. 31st Street, Berwyn Monthly educational program for seniors. Topic: Prostate Health.
Thursdays, Aug. 21 and Sept. 18, 6 p.m.Why Weight! Weight Loss Surgery Support Group MacNeal Hospital, Center for Wellness & Weight Management (near Giammanco entrance off Euclid Avenue) Emotional support and expert knowledge for those considering bariatric surgery.
Wednesday, Sept. 10, 5 p.m. Look Good! Feel Better! (A program of the American Cancer Society)MacNeal Hospital, South Building, Basement, Room A/A1 (next to cafeteria)Free beauty program to help women who are actively undergoing cancer treatment combat appearance-related side effects of radiation and chemotherapy. Register and reserve your complimentary skin-tone beauty kit.
and baby. Register in advance and receive a free gift!
Saturday, Aug. 23, 8 a.m. Get Healthy! Go Green! Family Walk & Health FairMacNeal Hospital, east parking lot, Euclid Avenue north of 34th StreetSee page one for details.
Childbirth EducationWhether you’re expecting your first child or your fifth, you need information, education, guidance and support. At MacNeal, our goal is to offer you all you need through a variety of childbirth education classes:
Monday, Aug. 18 or Sept. 15, 7 p.m.Breastfeeding – Baby’s Best Start
Classes should be attended during the third trimester (last 12 weeks) of your pregnancy. Childbirth classes are also available in Spanish. To register, call (888) 622-6325.
COMMUNITY CALENDAR
ONGOING HEALTH PROGRAMS & SUPPORT GROUPS
Unless otherwise indicated, please call (888) 622-6325 to register for programs.
3249 S. Oak Park AvenueBerwyn, IL 60402
MAILING PANEL
Physicians are members of the medical staff at MacNeal Hospital, but are independent contractors who are neither agents nor employees of MacNeal; and, as a result, MacNeal Hospital is not responsible for the actions of any of these physicians in their medical practices.
