- Women's Health, Pediatrics, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogWhen Julie Hubbard developed Type I (adult-onset) diabetes, she had been preparing for an in vitro fertilization (IVF) and hoping to become pregnant. Diabetes immediately put the 34-year-old Annapolis woman in a high risk category. “When I ended up in the emergency room, and they told me I had Type I diabetes, my biggest fear was whether I would be able to carry my baby.” Her doctor at the Shady Grove Fertility Center, Gilbert Mottla, MD, had already helped her to conceive and deliver her first child, born two years earlier. When diabetes struck, Dr. Mottla immediately referred her to the Center for Maternal and Fetal Medicine. They specialize in treating expectant mothers with high-risk health conditions and obstetrical complications. Working closely with Dr. Mottla and his nurse Anne Stegner, RN, they helped Julie complete the IVF. When she became pregnant, Jeffrey Spencer, MD, William Sweeney, MD, and diabetic educator, Maureen Connick, RN, helped her manage her diabetes and coached her through her pregnancy. “They helped me get on an insulin pump, and worked with me through it all.” The following August, Julie delivered a healthy baby boy. She now has two young sons, and says she is grateful for the specialized care she received through the programs at AAMC. Before her first IVF at Shady Grove, she had tried other methods at a medical center in another state, but was unsuccessful. When she came to Annapolis, she and her husband chose to pursue having a family with the help of Shady Grove because of their reputation. “They really have a very good way walking patients through what the problem might be and determining what the options are and how to proceed,” she says. “It’s very individualized in terms of a patient’s own personal needs and medical histories. Both Shady Grove and the high-risk group worked very closely together and with us.”0
- News & Press ReleasesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogLuminis Health has ended universal masking at all its facilities, including Luminis Health Anne Arundel Medical Center, Luminis Health Doctors Community Medical Center, as well as all other clinical and non-clinical areas. Luminis Health, which serves nearly two million residents in Anne Arundel and Prince George’s Counties, the Eastern Shore and beyond, has shifted to optional masking for all-staff, patients and visitors. Luminis Health mandated a mask requirement in March 2020 to help prevent the spread of the novel SAR-CoV2 virus. Three years later, Luminis Health is shifting to an endemic recovery response. “With high vaccination rates and a major reduction in community transmission, we are no longer seeing a significant number of patients hospitalized with COVID-19,” said Jean Murray, system director of Infection Prevention and Control at Luminis Health. “With the reduced risk to the community and hospitals, and the pending end of the federal public health emergency in May, our Incident Command Team feels it’s appropriate to lift the universal mask requirement.” Patients and visitors who prefer to wear a mask while in our facilities may do so. Patients may also request that their care team members wear masks. All care partners and support persons will be required to wash or sanitize their hands throughout their visit. While masks are now optional, patients with respiratory symptoms will be asked to wear masks as part of standard precautions and visitors should still refrain from visiting when ill. Luminis Health will continue to follow the science and Centers for Disease Control recommendations and if the situation changes the health system will review and update its visitation guidelines and practices. Since the COVID-19 vaccine became available at the end of 2020, Luminis Health has administered more than 125,000 COVID-19 vaccines in the communities it serves. We continue to encourage Marylanders get vaccinated and/or boosted to keep the public safe and healthy.0
- ConditionConditions/Services/Treatments PageSarcoma cancers are relatively rare. If you're diagnosed with one, you've probably got lots of questions and concerns. That's where we come in.What Is Sarcoma Cancer?A sarcoma is a cancerous tumor that begins in various tissues of the body. Most are soft tissue sarcomas, meaning they occur in fat, muscle, nerves, tendons, blood vessels or deep skin tissues. But sarcomas can begin in bones, too.Some soft tissue tumors are benign, meaning they aren't cancerous. They can't spread to other parts of the body like sarcoma cancer. Only an expert medical team can tell the difference between benign tumors and cancerous ones.Sarcoma cancers are rare. According to the American Cancer Society, U.S. doctors diagnose less than 14,000 soft tissue sarcomas each year. Most sarcomas happen in the feet, legs and arms, although they can occur elsewhere in the body too.Some types of sarcomas we treat at the Geaton and JoAnn DeCesaris Cancer Institute are:Chondrosarcoma, found in cartilage.Ewing sarcoma, which usually occurs in children and young adults in and around the bones.Fibrosarcoma, which starts in fibrous tissue in legs, arms or trunk.Kaposi sarcoma, which starts in the cells lining lymph or blood vessels.Leiomyosarcoma, which starts in smooth muscle tissue, often in the abdomen.Liposarcoma, which are tumors in fat tissue.Malignant fibrous histiocytoma, which are usually found in muscles and tendons.Osteosarcoma, a type of bone cancer seen most often in children and young adults.Rhabdomyosarcoma, which is a soft tissue sarcoma seen in children.0
- Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3Blog‘Dad? Can you hear me?’ John* slowly opens his eyes at the sound of a familiar voice overriding the beeping of the medical monitor he’s been hearing next to him for the past few weeks. He is a little weak and has a sore throat. It takes him a few seconds to clear his vision and see the electronic tablet being held in front of him. Blinking quickly, his gaze brightens the moment he recognizes the three eager faces on the screen waiting for a response. Happy tears follow quickly. And they’re not just his. Tears are flowing from him, his family, and Kelly Beraducci, the Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) family coordinator holding the electronic tablet. This is the first time John has been able to communicate with his family since being admitted to AAMC’s Intensive Care Unit (ICU) with severe symptoms related to coronavirus (COVID-19). The highly contagious virus led AAMC – and many hospitals across the nation – to put visitor restrictions in place for the safety of patients, families and staff. “Having the ability to do these video calls gives patients and their families a sense of hope,” Kelly says. “I get choked up every time I do these. It’s such a wonderful feeling of happiness to witness the moment families reconnect,” Kelly adds. “Some patients cry because they haven’t seen their families for weeks, others pray together and others laugh and joke.” Earlier that morning, Kelly was informed by the patient’s nurse that John was going to be extubated – or taken off the ventilator. She called his family, shared the good news that John’s health was on the mend and sent them the video call details. Throughout the day, she kept an eye on him to see when he was ready to get on camera. “It can be a hard sight for families to see their loved ones with all the medical supplies around them,” she said. “The family had been waiting for a long time for him to get to a point where he could talk and it finally happened that day.” Launching the Family Coordinator Program When AAMC put visitor restrictions in place due to the pandemic, staff in Patient Advocacy and Patient Experience knew this would be a shock for patients and loved ones. That same day, a team – formed by Inpatient Rehabilitation and Patient Relations Senior Director Kamila Frederick; Patient Experience Director Carole Groux; Patient Relations Coordinator Melissa Anderson; and Patient Advocacy, Interpretation Services and Spiritual Care Manager Anita Smith – convened to come up with a solution. Overnight, they launched the Family Coordinator program, which created positions for redeployed employees to facilitate communication between patients, families and staff. From left to right: Melissa Anderson, Ann Barnes, Kelly Beraducci, Janice Adams and Anita Smith. “We realized the restrictions would provoke a lot of anxiety,” says Smith. “We wanted to make sure there was a way we could keep patients and families connected at such a crucial time, whether they were COVID-19 patients or patients in other units.” To do this, the team redeployed a wide range of employees – including nurses, surgical advocates, patient care technicians, interventional radiology techs and more – to cover every unit. To date, there are 23 family coordinators working almost every day of the week. Since the program launched on March 20, family coordinators have been busy reaching out to families and scheduling calls. Working with AAMC’s Information Systems department, Patient Advocacy obtained four electronic tablets for family coordinators to start scheduling video calls. “You take for granted everything you can do by being able to pick up your phone,” Anita says. “Family coordinators and electronic tablets have become a lifeline in a time of isolation.” Becoming a Family Coordinator At 5 am, Kelly’s alarm goes off. She does a quick strength-training workout, showers and heads out the door to drive to the hospital, where she’s been working for the past 22 years. She goes directly to Edwards Pavilion, where she was working as a registered nurse prior to being redeployed as a family coordinator on March 25. The locker with her scrubs, shoes and PPE is still there. She changes her shoes, puts on her mask and heads over to the ICU dressed, with her supplies. By 7 am, she’s ready for the daily nursing report. “There are constant changes that we as family coordinators need to know about,” she says. “We’re learning more and more every day.” By the time it’s 8 am, doctors and nurses have completed their huddle, giving Kelly a good idea of where she should go first that morning. From that moment on, the phones begin to ring. “I get calls until my shift ends at 5:30 pm,” she says. “As nurses become available, I get updates from them to convey to the families. It’s a stressful time for everyone, so I try to be as kind, compassionate and understanding as I can be. I’m lucky to work with other compassionate family coordinators, like Sharon, who started with me. She goes above and beyond to take care of patients and their families.” Kelly calls all the families by phone and schedules an average of eight video calls per shift according to each patient’s condition and availability. Before she sees patients, she joins the video call with their family members. Wearing an N-95 and other protective equipment, she enters the room and greets the patient. ‘Hi, I’m Kelly.’ She tries to give each family at least 10 minutes to limit her exposure, although she lets most families squeeze in a couple of extra minutes. Halfway through the call, her arms become unsteady from holding the electronic tablet for the patient. Once the call ends, it’s time to move on to the next video call with another family patiently waiting to see their loved one. Each video call is different, but one thing that is consistent from one to the next is the patient’s and family’s relief in being able to connect through a screen. Kelly, too, feels the connection. She laughs, cries, celebrates and mourns with them as if they were one of her own. By end of her shift, Kelly’s smartwatch shows that she has walked five miles around her unit. If she has time, she goes downstairs to the post-anesthesia care unit, where there is another family coordinator, and checks on her recovering patients. “I went to see the very first patient I cared for as a family coordinator,” she says. “I cried during her first video call with her family and have felt very close to her since. I wanted to see her through because after so many calls with families and loved ones, you feel part of the family, too.” At a time where there only seems to be bad news everywhere, Kelly says there’s no other feeling like seeing her patients get better and leave happy. This, she says, keeps her going. Kelly works every other day, giving her time to slow down and relax in between her physically and mentally demanding shifts. When she gets home, she leaves her shoes outside and heads straight to the shower before greeting her family and dogs. While she changes, her husband and two teenagers prepare dinner and wait for her so they can eat together. “There is a lot going on,” she says, adding that she went from happy outpatient surgery scenarios to situations that don’t always have a happy ending and seeing families go through a loss without being able to be next to their loved ones. “It’s so mentally exhausting because you’re hearing the family’s anguish in their voices and trying to support them through a phone and screen. But I feel like I’m doing a great service to the families in helping them connect with their loved one.” When she comes into the hospital, Kelly says she approaches every day with compassion and kindness, reminding herself that she, too, has a family back at home waiting to see her at the end of the day. *Names have been changed to protect the patient’s and family’s privacy.0
- OrthopedicsGeneral Page Tier 3BlogThe start of a new school year means fall sports season is here as well. It’s important to be smart about returning to sports to help your child prevent injuries. Here are 12 tips to prevent problems when your child is back on the field: Stay active. If your child is not participating in organized sports over the summer, help them stay active to maintain some cardiovascular fitness. This way, it will be easier for them to get back into shape for the fall season. Build slowly. Sports can be demanding. Kids should not go from doing nothing to doing high demand exercise without some prep work. One week is not enough to “get into shape.” It’s best to build slowly over several weeks to prepare. Eat well. It’s easy to slip into bad eating habits over the summer. But that makes it hard for your child to get back to a good fitness level needed for sports. Sticking with good eating habits all year will give them the building blocks for a healthy body and excellent sports performance. Diversify. In today’s sports landscape, youth athletes have far more options for participating in their favorite sport all year round. Single-sport youth athletes have a much higher rate of overuse injury and burnout. Studies show that participating in different sports throughout the year can improve performance in the primary sport more than practicing in one sport all year. Your child can learn multiple skills from other sports that can contribute to their primary sport. Sports should be fun. Approximately 6 percent of youth athletes participate in collegiate level sports. But the chance of your child having a career playing sports is less than one in 1,000. The other 999 kids will use their education for their livelihood. So focus on the fun of sports, teaching teamwork and other excellent life skills. Be supportive. Winning is fun but it’s not everything. It’s important to be a supportive parent and cheer for the great plays. Enjoyment and participation are far more important to your child in the long run. Emphasize the good efforts and improvements over the season. Encourage participation regardless of athletic ability. Incorporate injury prevention routines into the warm up. This includes proper hydration, stretching and light cardio. You can find more sport specific recommendations at www.stopsportsinjuries.org. Don’t push through pain. Youth athletes should not have chronic pain. A sore muscle or bruise is normal, but routine pain is not. You should talk to a doctor if your child develops an overuse injury. Get an annual sports physical. Serious injury or sports-related death is extremely rare but often recognizable to a trained medical professional. An annual sports physical is an important part of getting your child ready to play. Check your equipment. Kids grow between seasons. Equipment wears out in time. Using improperly fitting or broken equipment is a recipe for injury. Stretch both before and after participation. A good warm up and a good cool down are equally important. Hydrate! The start of fall sports is often at the end of the summer, when the weather is still very hot. Proper hydration and temperature control is crucial for prevention of heat exhaustion and muscle fatigue. Injury prevention and knowledge about what precautions kids should take is just as important for coaches as it is for parents and young athletes. If you notice a change in your child’s technique, such as limping when running, rubbing a leg during activity or grasping a wrist, you should pull the athlete out of play. If you see that the problem continues, consider getting an assessment for your child before returning to play. Make sure your young athlete is feeling good and not suffering through an injury. Kids should enjoy sports. So go out there, play and have fun! Author Ben Petre, MD, is a sports medicine doctor and surgeon at Anne Arundel Medical Orthopedics. He can be reached at 410-268-8862. For more information visit aamcortho.com. Originally published July 23, 2018. Last updated Aug. 26, 2019.0
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