[et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”2_3″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”14px|22px|14px|5px”] -by Alan Laird, MD, Chief Medical Officer and Family Physician I don’t know about you, but I feel we could use some good news. And while the words “breast cancer” usually are not good news, there is some good news about breast cancer. The diagnosis of breast cancer today is more likely than not, to be a disease you survive. Consider the follow improvements found in one study from the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center: • Women diagnosed with breast cancer that had not spread beyond the breast had a 10 year survival rate of 55% from 1944 to 1954. For 1995 to 2004 it was 86.1%. • Women with breast cancer that had spread to nearby skin or lymph nodes had a 10 year survival rate of 16.2% for 1944–1954. For 1995–2004 it was 74.1%. • Women diagnosed with breast cancer that spread to other parts of the body far away from the breast had a 10 year survival rate for 1944–1954 of 3.3%. For 1995–2004 it was 22.2%. Today, studies indicate the following statistics for five-year survival of breast cancer: Stage 0 – 100%, Stage 1 – 100%, Stage 2 – 93%, Stage 3 – 72%, Stage 4 – 22%. Of course there are other factors beyond just the stage of the cancer that can affect the odds for each person. But overall, breast cancer has become a treatable and survivable disease. As you can see from the above studies, when we detect the breast cancer is very important. Catching the cancer while it is still in the breast and has not spread anywhere provides the best opportunity for long-term survival and cure. The best way to do this is to be screened for breast cancer. The most common screening is mammography. There are many different recommendations out there regarding when to start and how often to have a mammogram. Much of those depend upon your age, family history, childbirth history, hormone history, as well as other factors. There are multiple organizations that have weighed in with their recommendations. These include the American Cancer Society, the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, the US Preventative Services Task Force and the American College of Radiology. All of these groups have minor differences for various reasons. Mammogram is not the only way to screen for breast cancer. One of the ways to measure a medical screening test is by how sensitive it is. Sensitivity is how often the test is positive in a person with the disease. Put another way, sensitivity helps to rule out the presence of a disease. Sensitivity of a breast self-exam (the person examines their own breasts) is 12% – 41%. For a clinical breast exam (a trained health professional examines the breasts), the sensitivity is 40% – 69%. Mammogram sensitivity is 77% to 95%. Clearly, you are less likely to have breast cancer with a negative mammogram than a self or clinical breast exam. Other technologies like MRI are too new or require specialty training not readily available. They may have a roll in special cases (high risk cases or very dense breasts), but are not ready for general population screening. So what should you do? First of all, if you notice a lump in your breast, call your healthcare provider. This includes men. Although breast cancer in men is rare and less than 1% of breast cancers, men can still get this disease. Secondly, have the conversation with your trusted health care provider about breast cancer screening and if you should have mammography. If there is a breast cancer in your future (and of course we pray there is not), catching it early provides the best opportunity for survival and cure. Ignoring it won’t keep it from developing or from spreading. Just like my mom used to tell me, “Ignoring it may work… for a while.” Make the best choice for you, and get the advice you need to do that.     [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_3″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http://kpth130275site.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/Laird-pink-shirt.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”12px|12px|12px|12px”] [/et_pb_image][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”12px|12px|12px|12px”] If there is a breast cancer in your future (and of course we pray there is not), catching it early provides the best opportunity for survival and cure. Ignoring it won’t keep it from developing or from spreading. Just like my mom used to tell me, “Ignoring it may work… for a while.” [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http://kpth130275site.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/marty-IHA-annual-meeting-2017.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid” custom_margin=”12px|12px|12px|12px”] [/et_pb_image][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”3_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] Marty Guthmiller, CEO of Orange City Area Health System, was installed as Chair-Elect for the Board of Trustees of the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) at their annual meeting in Des Moines in October. Guthmiller completed his term as Board Treasurer, where he monitored and reported to the IHA Board on finances. In his new role as Chair-Elect, he will step in for the Chair as needed as he prepares to lead the Board in 2018-19 by providing leadership and strategic direction for the Iowa Hospital Association overall. The IHA was founded in 1929 and as such, Guthmiller will be leading in the organization’s 90th year.

“I am both honored and humbled to be involved with IHA in this capacity,” said Guthmiller. “I am quite certain that I will learn and gain much more than I will give. It is a great opportunity to bring that knowledge and understanding back to Orange City Area Health System for our collective benefit.” 

The IHA is a voluntary membership organization representing hospital and health system interests to business, government, and consumer audiences. All of Iowa’s 118 community hospitals are IHA members. In the state of Iowa, hospitals employ 72,000 people and have a $6.8 billion impact on the state’s economy. [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”3_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”]

Some helpful answers to your pressing questions about the flu and flu shots -by Dr. Alan Laird, Chief Medical Officer and Family Medicine Physician

Q. Is the flu season expected to be particularly bad this year? A. Since the flu starts in July in Australia, some authorities look to Australia to try to predict what it will be like for the fall and winter in the U.S. This year has been more difficult in Australia. However, the only thing we can absolutely predict about the flu season in the US is, that it will be unpredictable. And if you get then the flu, then for you the flu season was a bad one. Q. Are there any concerns about the flu season in our region? A. We have no more than our usual concerns about the flu season here. We would follow the recommendations of the CDC (Center for Disease Control) for getting a flu shot, staying home if you are sick, staying away from people with the flu, and using good hand hygiene (washing your hands). Q. What are the symptoms of influenza? A. Usually these include: fever, cough (usually dry), muscle aches, fatigue, headache, sore throat and runny nose. There may be some stomach upset. Influenza tends to be a respiratory-based illness (head, nose, lungs) as opposed to vomiting and diarrhea that gets called the “stomach flu.” That is also viral, but not the influenza virus. Q. Can you tell us about the flu vaccine and some people’s concerns? A. This is hard to answer as there are many reasons a person might think a flu shot is “not the best.” Some people do not “like” shots. I do not like Brussels sprouts, but they are still good for me. Some feel they have gotten the flu from a previous vaccine. Although it is highly unlikely this happened, there are many reasons they could get sick in the period right after the shot. They may have already been infected, but were not yet feeling the effect of the infection (called the incubation phase). They may have a different illness that acts like the flu (fever, cough, muscle aches are common with many illnesses). Once I got sick on a rollercoaster, but I did not give up riding rollercoasters. Some believe the vaccine will not be a good match by the time the flu gets here. But even if it is not a good match, it still provides some protection and may make the flu less severe. Some folks are opposed to vaccines as a whole for what they believe are complications from the vaccines or agents in the vaccines. That is a very long discussion. In a short answer, please go and experience an epidemic in an unvaccinated third world country. The suffering is immense and deadly. We can argue about causality of side effects, but it cannot be argued that the vaccines are effective and decrease the disease. We tend to forget (or not realize that) if we have not had a recent bad epidemic. Q. So what are the possible consequences of not getting a flu vaccine? A. The biggest consequence is if you get the flu. That can be as simple as feeling terrible and missing some work. But other complications can include pneumonia, ear infections, sinus infections, hospitalization and even death. Q. Are there certain people who should definitely be vaccinated? A. Most everyone should get the flu shot and here is why: There is a period of time when you have the flu, but your body is not yet reacting to it. You are shedding the virus (spreading the virus) but you still feel healthy. That is because the virus lives in the cells of our body and we have to kill the cells infected with the virus. There is a window of time that you can infect others, but do not feel sick. And you are still infective for 5-7 days after becoming sick (in some cases longer). So please consider getting the flu shot for your own health. But if not for you, get it for those around you, so you are not the source of their infection.     There are only two types of people who should not get a flu shot: Those who have had a life threating reaction to eggs (not just a rash or food allergy) and those who have had GBS (Guillain-Barré Syndrome). If you have had one of those conditions, then discuss the situation with your trusted healthcare provider to you help decide what is right for you.   [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][et_pb_column type=”1_4″][et_pb_image admin_label=”Image” src=”http://kpth130275site.wpengine.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/Laird.jpg” show_in_lightbox=”off” url_new_window=”off” use_overlay=”off” animation=”left” sticky=”off” align=”left” force_fullwidth=”off” always_center_on_mobile=”on” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] [/et_pb_image][et_pb_button admin_label=”Button” button_url=”https://www.ochealthsystem.org/flu-vaccine-clinics-2017/” url_new_window=”on” button_text=”Click here for information about our flu vaccine clinics and to download a consent form” button_alignment=”left” background_layout=”light” custom_button=”off” button_letter_spacing=”0″ button_use_icon=”default” button_icon_placement=”right” button_on_hover=”on” button_letter_spacing_hover=”0″ /][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section][et_pb_section admin_label=”section”][et_pb_row admin_label=”row”][et_pb_column type=”4_4″][et_pb_text admin_label=”Text” background_layout=”light” text_orientation=”left” use_border_color=”off” border_color=”#ffffff” border_style=”solid”] $1.2 million in Uncompensated Care and Healthcare Services Given Annually Orange City Area Health System provides $1,272,804 in community benefits to the Northwest Iowa region annually, according to a recently completed assessment of those programs and services. That amount, based on 2016 figures, includes $349,538 in uncompensated care and $923,266 in free or discounted community benefits that Orange City Area Health System specifically implemented to help the region’s residents. Community benefits are activities designed to improve health status and increase access to health care. Along with uncompensated care (which includes both charity care and bad debt), community benefits include such services and programs as health screenings, support groups, counseling, immunizations, nutritional services and transportation programs. The results for Orange City Area Health System are included in a statewide report by the Iowa Hospital Association (IHA) that shows Iowa hospitals provided community benefits in 2016 valued at more than $855 million, including more than $198 million in charity care. All 118 of Iowa’s community hospitals participated in the survey. “We are proud to be one of 118 community hospitals in Iowa who believe in supporting our communities,” said Marty Guthmiller, CEO of Orange City Area Health System. “This goes well beyond caring for those who are sick and injured, and speaks to the role we embrace in our region.” The programs and services accounted for in the survey were implemented in direct response to the needs of individual communities as well as entire counties and regions. Many of these programs and services simply would not exist without hospital support and leadership, said IHA President and CEO Kirk Norris. Uncompensated care (which is made up of both charity care and bad debt) also plays a role in overall community benefit for services provided by hospitals. Total uncompensated care in 2016 was valued at $468 million. The survey also showed total Medicare and Medicaid losses (at cost) of $212 million. Charity care in Iowa hospitals has declined precipitously since implementation of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including Iowa’s expansion of the Medicaid program. Recent efforts in Congress to repeal the ACA and roll back expansion would not only leave tens of thousands of Iowans without insurance, but would financially endanger hospitals across the state, which is why IHA has strenuously opposed such legislation. “Free and reduced care is on the rise throughout Iowa, and we have been intentional about expanding our financial assistance with those demonstrating need,” reported Guthmiller. “We always appreciate the opportunity to work with families in this regard.” Iowa hospitals, which employ more than 72,000 people, continue implement strategies that increase value to their patients and communities by offering high-quality care to individuals, addressing the health needs of identified populations and implementing process improvements that bend the cost curve. By seeking out ways to raise quality, reduce waste and increase safety, Iowa hospitals have become value leaders, as shown in multiple studies by the Dartmouth Atlas of Health Care, the Commonwealth Fund and others. These efforts, along with IHA’s ongoing advocacy to create fairer payment methodologies from Medicare and Medicaid, help ensure the financial stability of hospitals, making it possible for them to provide the services and programs most needed by their communities. [/et_pb_text][/et_pb_column][/et_pb_row][/et_pb_section]