News & Press Releases, Heart Care
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AAMG Expands Cardiac Care Network to Eastern Shore
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Anne Arundel Medical Group (AAMG), a multi-specialty physician group that is part of Anne Arundel Medical Center, is expanding its cardiac care network to the Eastern Shore. Juan Cordero, MD, joins AAMG Cardiology Specialists and is now accepting patients in Easton.
Dr. Cordero practices cardiology and has a special interest in new techniques and devices that could be beneficial for cardiovascular diseases. Dr. Cordero attended the University of Puerto Rico Medical Sciences Campus and began practicing medicine in 1998. He is a member of the American College of Cardiology.
AAMG’s cardiac care network now includes nine doctors at two locations, Annapolis and Easton. Doctors are supported by specially trained staff and backed by Anne Arundel Medical Center’s award-winning cardiac care.
Dr. Cordero is located at 505 Dutchmans Lane, Suites A3-A4, Easton, MD 21601.
For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 410-822-2440
News & Press Releases, Women's Health
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AAMG Chesapeake Women’s Health Welcomes New Physicians
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Anne Arundel Medical Group (AAMG) Chesapeake Women’s Health has added three new physicians to their practice—making them the largest OB-GYN practice in Easton and Cambridge with a total of 11 providers.
About the new providers:
Sozdar Abed, MD
Dr. Abed is an OB-GYN with special interest in infertility, endometriosis, hysteroscopy and laparoscopic/robotic surgery. She attended Damascus University Medical School and began practicing medicine in 2007. Dr. Abed is a member of a number of professional societies including the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Association of Gynecologic Laparoscopists and the American Society in Reproductive Medicine.
Afua Nyanin, MD
Dr. Nyanin is an OB-GYN with special interest in sexual health, infertility, vaginitis, integrative medicine, education, health disparity and global health. Dr. Nyanin attended Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and began practicing medicine in 2010. She is a member of the National Medical Association and a junior fellow of the American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.
Jonelle Samuel, MD
Dr. Samuel is an OB-GYN with special interest in minimally invasive gynecology, adolescent gynecology and contraception. She attended Howard University College of Medicine in Washington, DC and started practicing medicine in 2007. Dr. Samuel is a member of the American College of Obstetrics and Gynecology, American Medical Association and the Philadelphia Obstetrics Society.
“Our team is growing to support the needs of the community,” said Patrick O’Brien, MD, an OB-GYN who has been with the practice since 2006. “For more than a decade, we’ve dedicated ourselves to providing personalized care to women on the Eastern Shore. We’re proud to be a vital part of this community. Our patients are at the heart of who we are.”
AAMG Chesapeake Women’s Health offers easy appointment scheduling with same-day appointments available. It is also the only OB-GYN practice on the Eastern Shore that offers in-office breastfeeding support with a board-certified lactation consultant on staff.
AAMG Chesapeake Women’s Health is located at 401 Purdy Street, Suite 102, Easton, Md., 21601. For more information or to schedule an appointment, call 410-820-0038.
Cancer Care, Women's Health
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Ways to Fight Breast Cancer: Get Physical
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More than 60 studies agree that physical activity reduces breast cancer risk in both premenopausal and postmenopausal women. Overall, the studies report that getting at least 30 minutes per day of moderate- to high-intensity physical activity reduces risk. More exercise — in terms of both time and intensity — is even better.
The key to adopting an active lifestyle is choosing activities that make you happy, advises Rubie Sue Jackson, MD, a breast surgeon at the Fortney Breast Center. “If you adopt something that fits naturally into your lifestyle and you find it enjoyable, there’s a much better chance that you’ll stick with the activity long term.”
Here are a few tips to help increase activity and decrease your risk for breast cancer:
If your destination is in the neighborhood, walk or bike instead of driving.
Join a recreational sports team, which serves as both physical activity and a social event.
Add a walk or stretches to your lunch routine.
Track your steps with a pedometer, smartphone app or fitness tracker. The general goal is 10,000 steps daily.
Consider an active vacation that includes biking, hiking, walking tours, scuba diving or whatever gets you moving with a smile.
“Studies tell us that postmenopausal women benefit the most from weight control in terms of decreasing breast cancer risks. So it’s really never too late to get up and get active,” Dr. Jackson stresses.
Read about two more ways to fight breast cancer: Ways to Fight Breast Cancer: Get Support and Ways to Fight Breast Cancer: Understand Your Risks.
Contributor
Rubie Sue Jackson, MD, is a breast surgeon at the Fortney Breast Center.
Community, News & Press Releases
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2015 Community Benefit Report
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AAMC has long been a place of health, hope and healing for our community. But until recently, care has been mostly limited to treating illness within the walls of our hospital, doctors’ offices and other traditional settings.
As healthcare evolves to be part of our everyday lives (think Fitbits, nutrition diaries, and blood pressure monitors at home, the mall and grocery store), we too are evolving how we deliver care.
“We know that many of our sick patients have social needs that prevent them from getting care,” says Christine Crabbs, AAMC’s director of community health improvement.
Often it’s one small thing that pushes people down the path to poor health or a health crisis. For example, a man arrives home after a hospital stay. He is now wheelchair-bound but has no ramp to get up the front steps. He can’t get to the pharmacy to have his medications filled because he has no transportation. He has no family support or financial means. If the man’s basic and social needs aren’t addressed, there’s a good chance he will wind up back in the emergency room or hospital. And so goes the cycle.
“AAMC is doing what’s called community-based care coordination,” says Patricia Czapp, MD, AAMC’s chair of clinical integration. “It’s a throwback to the days when doctors and nurses and social workers made house visits. We form a trust-based relationship with you and help you navigate the complex world of healthcare and illness, while helping to connect you to other resources. It’s a fundamental step in the direction of enabling healing and independence.”
AAMC ensures people get help at home through community partnerships. “We work with organizations like The Coordinating Center and Hopkins HealthCare to provide care management at home,” says Pamela Hinshaw, director of care management at AAMC. “Our goal is to help people maintain independence at home and in the community, safely and confidently.”
Learn more about how AAMC partners with the community.
Cancer Care, Women's Health, Patient Stories
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Ways to Fight Breast Cancer: Get Support
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“Volunteering for Habitat for Humanity helped save my life,” proclaims Nancy Noel, now 71. While helping build townhomes in Annapolis, Nancy took a blow to the chest and the resulting wound refused to heal. Testing eventually led to a diagnosis of Paget disease, an aggressive form of breast cancer. After a total mastectomy, a double course of chemotherapy and six weeks of radiation — all at AAMC — Nancy came through a survivor.
Nancy took up storm chasing after she completed treatment for a rare, aggressive form of breast cancer.
“I simply made the decision to place myself in the hands of my brilliant and caring team and embrace the cure,” Nancy says.
Nancy’s positive attitude led her to become a volunteer peer mentor with Survivors Offering Support (SOS). SOS was created by Denise O’Neil and debuted at AAMC in 2004. It has since expanded to hospitals throughout the mid-Atlantic. The program pairs a newly diagnosed patient with a breast cancer survivor. The mentor provides support and encouragement from diagnosis through recovery.
“Most importantly, because we’ve been ‘through it,’ we mentors become valuable ‘pink sisters’ to our mentees. We visit them at chemo, offer a shoulder to lean on and celebrate their treatment milestones,” Nancy explains.
Lorraine Tafra, MD, breast surgeon and medical director of AAMC’s Rebecca Fortney Breast Center, says the SOS peer mentors are an integral part of the cancer team. She says the mentors help newly diagnosed breast cancer patients through the emotional fog that follows diagnosis.
Special training teaches SOS mentors how to avoid offering any medical advice, which comes only from medical professionals.
SOS mentors also help women transition to life after cancer, a time that can be difficult. “There is often fear of re-occurrence and that age-old question, ‘What do I do with the rest of my life?’” Nancy says. “I tell women that they are now official members of what I call the Second Chance Club.”
To ease post-treatment anxiety, Nancy recommends that women fill their lives with things they’ve always wanted to do. She and her husband, Bob, took up storm chasing. “As we stare up into that swirling belly of the beast, I thank AAMC and remind myself that it’s great to be alive.”
Watch a video of Nancy sharing her story.Read more about how a supportive team of peers and medical professionals can help women with breast cancer make personal treatment choices.Read about two more ways to fight breast cancer: Ways to Fight Breast Cancer: Get Physical and Ways to Fight Breast Cancer: Understand Your Risks.
Contributor
Lorraine Tafra, MD, is a breast surgeon and the medical director of AAMC’s Rebecca Fortney Breast Center.