- News & Press Releases, Infectious DiseaseGeneral Page Tier 3BlogLast updated at 12:45 pm Friday, May 15, 2020. In order to provide our patients and community members with helpful information about the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (COVID-19), we’ve created this post to share general information as well as details specific to those seeking care at a Luminis Health facility. For the safety of our patients, visitors and staff, the following visitor restrictions are in effect: To best protect our patients and team members, no visitors, with few exceptions, will be allowed until further notice. This is a proactive measure to reduce the spread of COVID-19. In the few cases where visitation is allowed, it is limited to one visitor per day. Exceptions include: Critical or end-of-life care situations Laboring mother support person Caregiver of a patient 21 years of age or under Surgical patient support person Outpatient test/procedure companion Person serving as surrogate decision maker Person performing official governmental function Person serving as support person for patients with disabilities To support this safety measure, all visitors will be screened upon arrival, and must pass a health screening to enter the facility. No visitors under the age of 18 unless they are parents of hospitalized children. This policy includes infants and siblings. AAMC NICU visitors are restricted to parents only, one at a time. People experiencing cold or flu-like symptoms should not visit. Patients coming to any Luminis Health facility with respiratory symptoms must request a mask upon arrival. Visitors returning from international travel may not visit until they have been in the United States, symptom free, for 14 days. We are suspending non-essential large (10 or more people) gatherings scheduled to take place on our campuses. If you have questions about an event you are scheduled to attend, please check with your event coordinator. Because the situation is rapidly evolving, we often reference Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) or Maryland State Department of Health websites below for the latest information. We encourage you to visit those sites for breaking information. If I am feeling sick, should I still keep my appointment? As you know, the world is experiencing notable person-to-person transmission of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Experts estimate that the majority of people who get this virus may have mild symptoms. But it can be quite severe for members of our community with underlying health conditions. For this reason, we ask that if you have any respiratory symptoms – such as a cough, runny nose, nasal congestion, sneezing, or fever – that you please cancel or postpone your specialist appointment unless it is absolutely essential. We know that you may have waited or planned for this visit, so we will make it a priority to reschedule your appointment when you are feeling better. Staying home while sick is one of the most important things you can do to help during this time. All of us have to work together to reduce the chance of transmission of this (or other) respiratory viruses. If you have respiratory symptoms, please call your primary care provider’s office to be evaluated. If you have traveled recently to China, Italy, Japan, Iran or South Korea, or think you may have been exposed to someone who tested positive for the novel coronavirus, please call your county health department. We appreciate your patience and consideration. Thank you for helping us keep your family, friends and neighbors healthy. What is 2019 Novel Coronavirus/COVID-19 and what are the symptoms? COVID-19 is a respiratory illness that can spread from person-to-person. The virus that causes COVID-19 is a novel coronavirus that was first identified during an investigation into an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in late 2019 and has now been detected in more than 170 countries. COVID-19 has similar symptoms to the flu, which include coughing, fever, sore throat and difficulty breathing. This is an emerging and evolving situation. For the most updated guidance, symptoms and information, visit the CDC website. How is COVID-19 spread? COVID-19 spreads between people who are in close contact with each other (within six feet) through respiratory droplets from coughs or sneezes. According to the CDC, there have not been documented cases of transmission of COVID-19 from surfaces contaminated with the virus. However, the CDC recommends cleaning visibly dirty surfaces followed by disinfection to help prevent COVID-19 and other viruses in homes and community settings. Are symptoms of COVID-19 different in children than in adults? The symptoms of COVID-19 are similar in children and adults, though children who have tested positive have generally exhibited milder symptoms. The CDC says it’s unknown whether children with underlying medical conditions and special health care needs might be at higher risk, however. What are the policies for visiting family and friends in the hospital who are being treated for COVID-19? To further minimize community spread of COVID-19, we are not permitting visitors for patients who have tested positive for COVID-19. For those patients, we can set up other means of communication for loved ones – FaceTime, phone calls, etc. I am scheduled for a surgery or procedure at a Luminis Health hospital – should I reschedule my appointment? As of March 18, 2020, we started limiting surgeries and procedures to emergencies or urgent cases only. This measure is now in effect until further notice. We are contacting patients directly. I have an appointment scheduled with my primary care provider or specialist – should I reschedule my appointment? In line with other measures taken to protect our staff and patients, and limit the transmission of COVID-19, starting March 24, 2020 until further notice, we will limit all outpatient in-office appointments to urgent patients requiring a physical exam only. We’ll shift all other routine visits to telemedicine visits or we’ll reschedule. Offices will remain open to staff, but not the public. This way we can continue to receive calls, triage the needs of patients and providers, and answer all requests and messages from patient portals. Our staff is already hard at work putting these measures in place. Is my Energize fitness class still scheduled? For the health and safety of all of our fitness fanatics, we are cancelling our Energize fitness classes for now. We encourage safe, outdoor exercise as the weather gets warmer. For our moms-to-be, check out our guide to safe exercise during pregnancy. I am currently in the cardiac rehabilitation program – should I still go in? For the health and safety of our patients, staff, and community, AAMC’s Outpatient Cardiac and Pulmonary Rehabilitation program will be cancelled for the time being. For updates, please call 443-481-1929. What if I think I have symptoms of COVID-19 and want testing? If you have symptoms of COVID-19 – with or without recent travel to China, South Korea, Japan, Italy or Iran – please call your health care provider to see if further screening is necessary before you arrive at one of our locations. By calling in advance, your provider can take your health history over the phone and, if needed, work with the appropriate state officials to determine if you require testing. In most cases, outpatient management with self-isolation at home is the best way to manage COVID-19 symptoms. When should I go to the Emergency Department? Only patients with fever, cough or shortness of breath and symptoms such as rapid heart rate, low blood pressure, high or very low temperatures, confusion, trouble breathing or severe dehydration should seek medical care in the ED. Call ahead to tell the ED that you are coming so we can be prepared for your arrival. If I am a high-risk individual, how should I protect myself? In order to reduce your risk of exposure to COVID-19, we recommend taking several precautions. You can learn more here. How does COVID-19 impact your pregnancy and baby? As with many other things, your immune system changes during pregnancy. This is normal, but it can increase your risk for contracting viruses and developing complications. Unfortunately, little is known about COVID-19’s effect on pregnant women and infants. Based on experiences from other coronaviruses, pregnant women may be at higher risk of severe respiratory illness, morbidity, or death as compared with the general population. It is important to understand that, so far, COVID-19 has not been detected in either amniotic fluid or breast milk. However, it is too early to determine long-term effects on infants born to women who had COVID-19 during their pregnancy. Is it safe for me to deliver my baby at Anne Arundel Medical Center? Yes, our visitor restrictions are in place for the safety of patients, visitors and staff, including parents-to-be. We continue to follow the recommendations of the CDC and the Department of Health. Check out these frequently asked questions about giving birth during this pandemic, and our answers. Can COVID-19 be passed from a pregnant woman to the fetus or newborn? It is unknown if a pregnant woman with COVID-19 can pass the virus to her baby through pregnancy and delivery. According to the CDC, no infants born to mothers with COVID-19 have tested positive for the virus. How is Luminis Health prepared for COVID-19 in our community? We are prepared and ready to care for patients with suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19. Our clinical teams have been trained on how to identify, isolate and care for patients with this and other contagious illnesses. We have protocols and systems in place to keep patients, visitors and health care workers safe, and we work closely with the CDC and local and state departments of health to implement their guidance into our established protocols. Are there any people with COVID-19 in our community? Yes, there are confirmed COVID-19 cases in Maryland. Please check with the Maryland State Department of Health and your local department of health for the latest information and alerts. How do I keep myself and my family safe? The CDC released a step-by-step guide about how households should handle a potential outbreak of coronavirus in their community. The CDC also recommends the below everyday preventive actions to help prevent the spread of respiratory diseases, including: Wash your hands often with soap and water or use an alcohol-based hand sanitizer with at least 60% alcohol. Avoid close contact with people who are sick. Avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth. Stay home when you are sick. Cover your cough or sneeze with a tissue, then throw the tissue in the trash. Clean and disinfect frequently touched objects and surfaces using a regular household cleaning spray or wipe. Note: These tips were adapted from CDC prevention tips. Learn more about how and when to use medical masks from the Journal of the American Medical Association:
- Behavioral Health, News & Press ReleasesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogAnne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) marked a milestone today with a ribbon-cutting ceremony to celebrate the completion of its new mental health hospital, which will officially open its doors to patients late March. Attendees included AAMC leadership, community members, patients, donors and public officials. “The J. Kent McNew Family Medical Center will be an important part of our work to care for the whole person while they are receiving inpatient and outpatient mental health services,” said Victoria Bayless, CEO of Luminis Health. “We are thankful to our long-time supporters of this project, our generous donors, the state of Maryland and Anne Arundel County, and our dedicated behavioral health team for support in bringing this project to fruition.” READ MORE: Anne Arundel Medical Center partners with Sheppard Pratt Health System to provide mental health and addiction services “This is an important day for our community,” said Sherry Perkins, president of AAMC. “Together, we have worked diligently and passionately to bring our region the mental health care and services it needs and truly deserves. We are proud of this milestone in our journey to deliver the care our community members need, when and where they need it.” “Cutting the ribbon on the J. Kent McNew Family Medical Center signifies the start of our vision of an integrated behavioral campus coming to life,” said Eric Anderson, MD, medical director of the McNew Medical Center. “When we started on this path more than four years ago, we set out to address the gaps in mental health care. What emerged was a commitment to delivering state-of-the-art, patient- and family-centered care in a safe, calming and comforting environment.” The J. Kent McNew Family Medical Center is located in Annapolis off Riva Road next to Pathways, AAMC’s substance use and co-occurring disorder treatment facility. The 16-bed facility will care for up to 900 patients a year who would otherwise be transferred out of the area. The campus offers: Inpatient mental health care A psychiatric partial hospitalization program Intensive outpatient programs Residential and outpatient substance use services Referral and care coordination to community-based treatment and support services The McNew Medical Center is not an emergency facility and cannot receive walk-in patients. Patients are admitted to the inpatient unit upon referral from a hospital’s emergency department when a patient has presented voluntarily or on an emergency petition, has received an emergency psychiatric assessment, and has met criteria for admission. The 56,000 square foot, four-story building was designed with both safety and aesthetics in mind for the care of patients and families. The new facility includes a courtyard, patient and family lounge space, a secure ambulance bay to allow for the safe transfer of new patients into the building, a meditation room and a community conference room.
- Employee SpotlightGeneral Page Tier 3BlogMarilyn ‘Nia’ Wright has been running around hospital floors attending to patients since she started her career as a nurse in the ‘70s. Wherever there was a need — whether it was her patient or not — she was on the scene ready to help. Over the years, Marilyn earned the nickname Nia, an abbreviation for ‘nurse in action.’ “I always wanted to be a nurse,” Nia says, adding that when she was younger, she liked play-acting as a nurse and putting bandages on her dolls. “I never saw myself doing anything else than nursing, except for maybe becoming an actor, singer or dancer. But I still get to do all of those things as a nurse because you never know what your patients need. Sometimes you need to tell a joke to help them relax and, sometimes, depending on the patient, we sing together.” Nia’s passion is helping others. Her ethos, which she coined early on in her career, is that she gets to impact the world one person at a time because of her profession. “We [nurses] don’t only impact patients, we also reach their families and beyond. That’s why I’m a nurse.” As senior nursing director at Anne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC), Nia does a lot of work behind the scenes taking care of the people who take care of the patients. Another important aspect of her role is the many diversity and inclusion initiatives she spearheads at AAMC, including helping to launch the organization’s first Coming to the Table series, focused on creating a more diverse and inclusive culture by having open, candid conversations about cultural differences and discussing ways to mitigate unconscious bias. Thanks to such efforts, AAMC was recently nominated as the recipient of the 2020 Prism Diversity Award by the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL). This award recognizes AAMC as a leader for advancing diversity efforts within the nursing profession, community or organization. “Diversity is acknowledging, embracing and valuing each person’s uniqueness, while inclusion is recognizing that each person is unique,” says Nia. “Every individual brings something different to the table and diversity is important in order to be strong, both as a hospital and as a community.” Nia helps to instill in her colleagues that they can do something to make sure they are inclusive just in the way they interact with another person. “The business that we’re in is health care and care promotes health. One of the ways we can all promote care, whether working with patients or not, is by being that person who includes everyone regardless of their preferences or the way they look and/or speak.” Pro tip: “Be respectful of people for being human beings who have value. And be introspective so you are aware of your own biases — we all have them. If you’re not aware of them, you won’t overcome them.” If you know a great individual or a fantastic team going above and beyond to make a difference, make sure to let us know! Looking for a career in health care? We invite you to join a diverse and collaborative team of professionals working together to innovate the future of health care for our entire region. Check out our career opportunities.
- News & Press ReleasesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogAnne Arundel Medical Center (AAMC) is the recipient of the 2020 Prism Award by the American Organization for Nursing Leadership (AONL). This award recognizes AAMC as a leader for advancing diversity efforts within the nursing profession, community and organization. AONL will honor AAMC with the award in late March. “AAMC champions a culture that fosters diversity, equity and inclusion,” said Sherry Perkins, president of AAMC. “Our employees play a key role in ensuring we nurture diversity in our community and within the workplace, and we are honored to be awarded with the American Organization for Nursing Leadership Prism Diversity Award.” READ MORE: Special Edition Employee Spotlight: Marilyn “Nia” Wright “This recognition is a reflection of our dedication and commitment to celebrating a diverse workforce in health care,” said Barbara Jacobs, chief nursing officer at AAMC. “As a Magnet® designated hospital, we’re proud to deliver the highest quality of care and celebrate the diversity of our patients, employees and community as a whole.” “Receiving this award is another confirmation that our efforts to increase diversity, ensure equity and foster inclusion are headed in the right direction,” said Tamiko Stanley, director of Diversity and Inclusion. “We are committed to reducing health disparities and ensuring a culturally competent workforce that reflects the communities we serve. Embracing diversity and inclusion fosters creativity and innovation, while building a workforce that delivers effective, efficient and impactful care.” AAMC is consistently recognized for its diversity and inclusion efforts. The medical center is the 2019 recipient of the American Hospital Association Carolyn Boone Lewis Equity of Care Award and is also a designated “LGBTQ Healthcare Equality Top Performer” by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation.
- Cancer Care, Men's Health, Women's HealthGeneral Page Tier 3BlogColon cancer is the third most commonly diagnosed cancer in both men and women in the United States. It is also one of the leading causes of cancer deaths each year. The colon makes up most of your large intestine and is part of your digestive system. In the colon, salt and water get absorbed from food you eat in one of the final steps of digestion, before the remaining undigestible matter gets excreted from your body. Colon cancer usually begins with growths – called polyps – which form within the colon. These growths may become cancerous and, over time, can spread throughout the colon and into other areas of the body. Although there is no surefire way to prevent colon cancer, there are steps you can take to lower your risk: Get screened regularly. Regular screening for colon cancer is critical in order to find and remove polyps before they become cancerous. In general, it is recommended that all adults get screened annually, beginning at age 45. Speak with your doctor for more details on the type and frequency of screening that is right for you. Stay within a healthy weight. Being overweight or obese is a major risk factor for colon cancer, particularly if you carry excess weight around the midsection or belly. If you need to lose weight, keep these quick tips in mind: don’t drink your calories; eat slowly; and pay close attention to hunger cues. Eat only when you are truly hungry and stop when you feel full. Avoid red or processed meats. High intake of beef, pork and lamb is linked with increased rates of colon cancer. The same is true for processed meats, such as deli meat, bacon, sausage, hot dogs, ham and others. Keep these foods as occasional treats and choose poultry, seafood, legumes and nuts for your daily protein needs. Eat more fiber. The bacteria in your gut houses 80 percent of your immune system and, therefore, plays an important role in immune function, inflammation and metabolism. A healthy balance of gut bacteria has been linked with a decreased risk of colon and other cancers. Studies show that not only does eating a high-fiber diet lead to a favorable balance of “good” bacteria in your gut, but it is also associated with a reduced risk of colon cancer. Aim for 25-30 grams of fiber per day by eating vegetables, fruits, oatmeal, legumes, nuts, whole-wheat pasta, brown rice, whole grain bread and other grains. Add color to your plate. A diet rich in fruits and vegetables can reduce the risk of colon cancer. Plus, the phytochemicals found in these foods not only give them their vibrant colors, but they also act as cancer-fighting antioxidants in the body. Lycopene—found in tomatoes, watermelon and mangoes—is a great example. Eat a rainbow of different colored fruits and vegetables every day to make sure you’re getting as many different antioxidants as possible. Move your body. Physical inactivity is another risk factor for colon cancer, so be sure to move your body as much as possible every day. Take the stairs, park further from your destination, go for a walk, find a fun fitness class, or throw a dance party with your kids or grandkids. Have fun and make daily movement a habit. Avoid smoking and drinking alcohol. Both smoking and high alcohol intake are linked with an increased risk of colon cancer (and other diseases). It’s best to quit smoking altogether and limit your consumption of alcohol to no more than one drink a day for women and two drinks per day for men. All of these recommendations can help lower your risk factors for colon cancer. As an extra bonus, nearly all of them can also reduce your risk of other cancers and major diseases. That’s a win-win for your health! Authors Ann Caldwell and Maureen Shackelford are nutritionists and registered dietitians at Anne Arundel Medical Center. To reach them, call 443-481-5555. Originally published March 4, 2019. Last updated March 2, 2020.
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