- Senior Care, Women's HealthGeneral Page Tier 3BlogRaising children is as challenging as it is rewarding. Being a grandparent can be much more carefree, but it’s not without responsibility. And things have changed since you raised your kids. Following these tips and brushing up on the latest guidelines will help you feel confident in your new role. Breastfeeding Support Your daughter or daughter-in-law has decided to breastfeed. Breastfeeding offers amazing health benefits to both baby and mom, and you can play an important role. In the 1960s and 70s, breastfeeding was not as common and doctors believed formula was better than breast milk. We now know that’s not true, and breast milk contains all the nutrients babies need to grow. Breastfeeding is a learned skill, and mom is more likely to succeed with support. In the first few weeks after baby arrives, you can help with chores or bring a meal, offering mom more time to focus on her baby and breastfeeding. Learn about the importance of breastfeeding and talk to mom about her goals. Encouraging her in this journey, offering support and simply listening can make all the difference. Sleep Safety Did your babies sleep on their stomachs? Guidelines for safe sleeping have changed. You should now always place infants to sleep on their back. This is proven to greatly reduce the risk of Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS). The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) started telling families to put babies to sleep on their backs in 1992. Since then, the number of SIDS deaths in the U.S. has dropped by 38 percent. Babies should also sleep alone, and without loose blankets, toys or bumpers, which can pose potential choking or suffocation hazards. In fact, the sale of bumper pads is banned in Maryland. Studies show crib bumpers do more harm than good. READ MORE: Myths about infant safe sleep Car Seat Safety Properly installing a car seat and buckling a child correctly are critical, no matter how short the trip. The AAP says toddlers should ride in rear-facing car seats until the age of two. Research shows children under the age of two are 75 percent less likely to die or be severely injured in a crash if they’re rear facing. Ask the parents to show you the basics and help you choose a car seat for your car if you expect to help with transport. They’ll appreciate your dedication to safety! Social Media When you find out you’re going to be a grandparent and the little bundle of joy arrives, you’ll want to shout it from the rooftop. And today’s social media channels give you the ability to do that. Pause. Before you publically share news or photos, talk to the parents about their wishes. They may feel uncomfortable or have safety concerns about sharing photos and information about their baby on the Internet. In this age of technology, it’s important to talk about social media boundaries. No matter how many kids you raised, remember your grandchild’s parents are now in charge. Let them experiment and grow into their new role. Supporting their decisions and offering advice when they ask for it will help you step into your new role as a grandparent with grace. Want to learn more? Register for AAMC’s monthly Grandparent Update class. Your grandchild will thank you! Originally published May 9, 2016. Last updated Sept. 3, 2019.0
- Community, News & Press Releases, Heart CareGeneral Page Tier 3BlogToday is an important day for our community. We have learned that the appeal against the approval of a cardiac surgery program at Anne Arundel Medical Center will be dropped. This means that after more than two years of being tied up in the court system, we can move forward with our plans to bring this important service to our community. AAMC remains one of the busiest facilities in the state of Maryland for treating life-threatening heart attacks. We are also one of the best in delivering this life-saving care in the shortest amount of time, which is critical to the patient. This cardiac surgery program will allow us to provide the full continuum of cardiac services. In essence, we will no longer have to transfer hundreds of AAMC patients to other programs outside of our region each year. This is a true win for our patients, their families and the community! With the ability to move forward, we are able to begin our recruitment of key staff to lead and develop our program. We anticipate that we will be able to provide patients with cardiac surgery services in spring of 2020. Your unwavering support for this program has helped bring us to where we are today. On behalf of everyone at AAMC, we are grateful. I look forward to keeping you updated on our progress.0
- GivingGeneral Page Tier 3BlogMaria C. Scott, MD, the founder and medical director for Chesapeake Eye Care and Laser Center, believes that the core of Anne Arundel Medical Center is to serve the entire community. Through a partnership with AAMC’s Community Health Clinics, Dr. Scott donates her time and talent to give free cataract surgery to low-income patients through the Operation Sight program. Vision loss from a cataract has tremendous impact on those living in poverty. The economic and cultural stigmas associated with poor vision greatly limits employment and educational opportunities. And when family members of the visually impaired become caretakers, their economic future is also jeopardized. “Knowing the life changing impact of cataract surgery, it is important for us to offer this opportunity to those who could not otherwise afford it,” says Dr. Scott, one of the leading cataract surgeons in the country to implant multifocal lenses. “This was a true team effort where many AAMC physicians and caregivers donated their time and services.” Dr. Scott was the first surgeon to perform no-needle, no-stitch cataract surgery in the area, and was the first surgeon to treat patients with the laser vision correction procedure in Annapolis. “When I came to this area 23 years ago, many residents traveled to Baltimore for cataract surgery. This was true of other services as well. Thankfully, AAMC’s president at the time, Chip Doordan, and his team had a vision to provide these much needed services locally, and they saw it through to fruition,” says Dr. Scott. “Now we have an amazing facility that attracts the best and the brightest. I am very proud to be a part of Anne Arundel Medical Center.” In addition to the time she commits through her partnership with the Community Health Clinics, Dr. Scott and her husband, Dr. Matthew Scott, an anesthesiologist at Anesthesia Company, L.L.C., contribute yearly as AAMC Foundation Baldwin Society members and have supported various areas of care, including AAMC’s Heart and Vascular Institute and the Geaton and JoAnn DeCesaris Cancer Institute. Dr. Scott has also provided a clinical leadership perspective as a member of the AAMC Foundation’s board since 2010. “As the first elected physician to serve on the board, I was honored that AAMC wanted to include a physician’s voice. I think it helps represent the patients and the community since we are involved with those we serve first-hand. We are fortunate to have such a talented board who is truly dedicated to the community,” says Dr. Scott. Dr. Scott encourages her fellow surgeons and colleagues to get involved with the AAMC Foundation. “Going forward, my hope is that more doctors get involved. I think it is important for the growth of the hospital and the community,” she says. To learn more about supporting AAMC’s Community Health Clinics, contact 443-481-4747 or [email protected].0
- Giving, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogWhen Annapolis artist Bobbie Burnett made her first stained glass angel in honor of a close friend, she thought it would be her last. The year was 1982, and her friend Susie had leukemia. Susie, then 39, had three children under the age of 10, and was undergoing treatment at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Bobbie created the angel as a Christmas gift for her friend and, soon after, found that others wanted angels, too. She ended up making several, and sold them to help pay for Susie’s medical expenses. “I thought that would be it,” she recalls. But it was only the beginning. Susie passed away in 1983, but the angel Bobbie made for her inspired the Caring Collection. The collection is made up of stained glass angels that Bobbie sells to benefit Anne Arundel Medical Center’s (AAMC’s) Geaton and JoAnn DeCesaris Cancer Institute, and the Sidney Kimmel Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins. The Caring Collection has raised more than $1.2 million in funds over the years, half of which has gone to AAMC. Bobbie’s collection also includes one-of-a-kind stained glass windows, doors and sculptures. For her incredible support of the cancer community, Bobbie recently received the DeCesaris Cancer Institute’s (DCI’s) Fire and Soul Award on National Cancer Survivors Day in June. “Bobbie Burnett and the Caring Collection are, simply stated, angels in waiting ready to help cancer patients and their families treated at DCI,” says Catherine Copertino, DCI’s vice president of cancer services. “Hundreds of individuals have been touched with the funds raised by the Caring Collection.” A former art teacher, Bobbie took a stained glass class after she and her husband bought a boat and sailed from Texas to Annapolis. “That’s when I met Susie,” she says. “And it kind of all fell together.” Bobbie and her team of volunteers have made 45,000 angels. She says she wanted to help support AAMC because it’s her local hospital, the one she would go to if she needed medical care. Catherine says the sale of the angels has helped with the purchase of radiation and chemotherapy infusion technology, genetics counseling software, gowns for women undergoing mammograms, and technology to monitor prostate cancer. “Most importantly, the beautiful stained glass angels and ornaments that adorn DCI remind us each and every day that someone cares about us,” Catherine says. Bobbie says she doesn’t have a favorite angel in the collection. “I love them all,” she says. But right now, Bobbie is in the process of designing one final angel. She’ll be 80 next year, and realizes she may not be able to make the angels forever. Still, she’s not ready to say whether it’s the end of the Caring Collection. “Only the angels know the answer to that question,” she says. To order an angel and view more of Bobbie’s artwork, email [email protected] or call 410-849-5333.0
- Cancer CareGeneral Page Tier 3BlogGetting breast implants after a mastectomy is an emotional process. Preparing your body for the implants can also be an arduous task. It can involve weekly doctor’s visits, needles, saline and an often uncomfortable process. However, new technology has changed the landscape for many women. There’s now an option that eases the stress for breast cancer survivors and gives them the opportunity to play an active role in the healing process. With the AeroForm tissue expander system, patients use a remote-control device that communicates with expanders in their body through Bluetooth-like technology. This gives the patient the choice to expand their breast tissue anytime and anywhere with up to three puffs of air a day with a few hours in between. With one press of a remote control, the patient releases a dose of 10cc of carbon dioxide. This gradually expands the breasts over time. READ MORE: Tips on supporting a loved one through cancer This new technology is an alternative to the traditional method of tissue expansion still used at most hospitals, with patients having to visit their doctor frequently to have 50cc or more of saline injected. And, although the upfront cost is higher for this technology, in the end, we think that this novel technology lowers costs since there will be less visits to the doctor. The reward for patients is incalculable. Here are the top benefits of the expander system: It is patient-controlled. Patients are in control and decide how often to dose and when to stop expanding their breasts. You can do it anywhere. Patients can release the puffs of air anywhere and anytime they want without having to schedule a doctor’s visit, take off from work or even worry about daycare. There are no needles involved. Therefore, there is no need to feel anxious! By using the remote-control device, patients can press a button to release a dose of air that expands their breasts steadily. Each small dose can barely be felt. Less risky. No needles also means there is less risk for infection or rupture, which can happen occasionally with saline-filled expanders. It’s more empowering. With an AeroForm expander, the patient has full control and releases her own doses instead of having to come in every one to two weeks to have a doctor inject fluid into the breast. Patients enjoy playing an active role in their own recoveries. AeroForm is a game-changing technology that allows patients to be fully involved in the process — it decreases pain and complications and literally hands them control. Author Tripp Holton, MD, is a plastic surgeon at Anne Arundel Medical Group (AAMG) Plastic Surgery and specializes in breast reconstruction, including microvascular surgery as well as cosmetic surgery of the face and body at Anne Arundel Medical Center. You can reach his office at 443-481-3400 or AAMGPlasticSurgery.com.0
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