Have a Heart: Some Facts About Organ Donation

arspilka February 8th, 2011, 11:35 PM
Abby R. Spilka, Hospice Volunteer
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Heart

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Whether be-ribboned with silk or cut out of red construction paper, you can’t help notice the prevalence of hearts this month. Just like all shades of pink have been used to brand breast cancer awareness, “Go Red!” is the mantra of February, American Heart Month.

And with good reason. Heart disease is the number-one cause of death of women 20 and older. In fact, 82 million Americans have at least one or more types of cardiovascular disease. There are certainly many reasons to maintain a healthy heart and many…

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Reality TV Tackles New Ground

arspilka June 30th, 2010, 6:59 PM
Abby R. Spilka, Hospice Volunteer
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Prior to the June 22 episode of “Deadliest Catch,” I had, if you’ll pardon the pun, never caught an episode. When I heard in February that the captain of one of the crab boats had a stroke and subsequently died a couple of weeks later, I wondered how and if it would be handled on the show. I was drawn to the episode, the first in a four-episode-arc that promises to show the struggles of Captain Harris’ family, for one simple reason — as Clark Bunting, the president and general…

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“Brain Attack”

pwilson May 14th, 2010, 10:20 PM
Paula Wilson, RN, Registered Nurse, Clinical Coordinator
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In a previous post I mentioned that the month of May is Stroke Awareness Month. The recent events surrounding Beau Biden, the Delaware attorney general and son of Vice President Joe Biden highlights how stroke can occur at any age, and the importance of a quick response.  It’s important to get medical attention within three hours of the first symptoms. It is important to know that a stroke is a MEDICAL EMERGENCY. Time lost = Brain lost.

I had a patient once that shared her stroke story with me. It was Labor…

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Be F.A.S.T. with Stroke

pwilson May 2nd, 2010, 12:14 AM
Paula Wilson, RN, Registered Nurse, Clinical Coordinator
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May is National Stroke Awareness Month
(National Stroke Association)
One time I had a patient who was having difficulty controlling his blood pressure, and his main concern was avoidance of stroke. He had a neighbor that had a stroke with a long recovery phase, and he was really fearful of that happening to him. He would often ask “How would I know I was having one?” We discussed risk factors that could be controlled such as:
  • High Blood Pressure
  • Heart Disease
  • Diabetes
  • Cigarette Smoking
  • High Cholesterol
  • Physical Inactivity
However what he found most helpful, was a simple term:  F. A. S. T.
F=FACE  Ask the…
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