- Behavioral Health, Men's Health, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogAs director of engineering, Tony Kuzawinski is responsible for plant operations, maintenance and facilities. On a typical day you’ll find him running all over Anne Arundel Medical Center’s medical park campus to meetings and inspections that help ensure a safe environment of care for patients, families and employees. One day, he noticed he was having trouble keeping up with his boss, who always takes the stairs. “We’d go up a couple flights of stairs and it felt like my heart was coming out of my chest,” says the 36-year-old who had been a pack-a-day smoker since age 14. “It would take me several minutes to catch my breath and be able to talk. When alone, I’d take the elevator.” Tony had tried to quit several times, including three years ago when his daughter was born. Then, in early 2014, AAMC announced that starting July 2015 it would not hire people who use tobacco. Although the new policy would not affect him, it hit a nerve. “I found myself defending the policy with family and friends about how it’s about helping people live healthier,” says Tony, who lives in Catonsville. Finally, a friend challenged him to practice what he preached: quit smoking once and for all. So he did. Tony chose June 20—his birthday—as the day he would stop smoking. And he hasn’t looked back. “I wanted do it—for my wife, for my kids and for my health,” he says. Since quitting, his blood pressure has returned to normal. He can run up five flights of stairs and no longer gets winded carrying his kids up to bed at night. And, he’s inspired some of his colleagues to quit. “Little things make a difference,” he says. “Make up your mind and do it. It’s not easy at first, but it gets easier. You can do it, but you have to want to do it.” Ready to quit? Learn more about smoking cessation programs at Anne Arundel Medical Center. Courses and individual counseling are free if you live, work or attend school in Anne Arundel County. If you live elsewhere in the region, our staff may be able to navigate you to free resources in your area so please call 443-481-5366. If you’re an employee, we have specific resources for you, too.
- Men's Health, Women's Health, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogMost of us are comfortable sharing with family and friends our woes of back, neck or leg pain. But what about when you have pain in a place where—ahem—no one really talks about? Enter Karen Dobbs. A physical therapist specializing in the pelvic floor, Karen helps men and women suffering from muscle and nerve pain associated with sex, going to the bathroom, wearing underwear, and even sitting or standing. “Because of the sensitive nature of my patients’ problems, during the first session, my goal is to make them feel comfortable and gain their trust,” says Karen, who lives in West River, Md. “We sit in a private room and have a confidential, personal conversation about what’s going on.” Karen is one of four practitioners at Anne Arundel Medical Center who focuses on pelvic health issues. She says it is an emerging field with few professionals trained to do this kind of work. Every person is different, says Karen. “Each condition I treat is very specific and the treatment is customized to the patient’s needs.” The goal of pelvic floor physical therapy is either muscle strengthening—often associated with urinary or fecal incontinence, or muscle relaxation, which is frequently associated with sexual pain; for example, pudendal neuralgia, a nerve condition that leads to pain in the clitoris/penis, vulva/scrotum, perineum, and rectum. Treatment also can involve the back and leg muscles because they are connected to the pelvic floor. “Often, patients cannot share their problem with friends, family or even their doctor,” says Karen. “Sometimes it takes a few sessions before they open up.” But once they begin to have pain relief as a result of the therapy, they become more comfortable and willing to try different treatment options. Karen talks to her patients about anatomy, how muscles work, and how you can relax or strengthen them. Patients are usually given a home program to follow, which is very important. They only progress at the rate the patient is comfortable.
- Community, Women's Health, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogBy the time Anthony Moorman, MD, had completed his military service as an army OB/GYN, he had spent his entire life in cities. But he was drawn to the sense of community that came with practicing in a rural town. So, when he discovered Chestertown, Md., Dr. Moorman decided to make the move and open his own practice. “There was a need for maternity care and gynecological care here and I liked the comfort and familiarity that comes with practicing rural medicine. It allows me to follow patients over time,” he says. Indeed Dr. Moorman has been able to watch the generations turn over as many of the babies he delivered two decades ago have grow to adulthood and become new patients. As his practice grew, he brought in a partner, Dr. Katherine Webb in 2008. Prior to opening Chester River OB/GYN in 1994, Dr. Moorman had completed his residency in obstetrics and gynecology at Tripler Army Medical Center in Honolulu, Hawaii. He received his medical degree from Medical College of Virginia in Richmond. He says the greatest rewards of working on the Eastern shore come from the relationships he builds with patients. “Of course, it’s wonderful to be able to deliver all the babies I’ve delivered here, but my personal rewards come from seeing how much the community cares for me as their physician.
- Cancer Care, Women's Health, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogLast August, doctors found a large tumor in Jeannette Mitchell’s abdomen and diagnosed her with stage 3 cervical cancer. For two years, she had experienced pain and bleeding with sexual intercourse. A year later, after chemo and radiation therapy for her cancer, sex was impossible. But a specialized pelvic floor physical therapy at Anne Arundel Medical Center is helping her through the emotional and physical trauma, and Jeannette is looking forward to a day when she and her husband can be intimate again. The cancer and the treatment have affected me a lot sexually and it’s put a burden on both of us. Before diagnosis, the tumor was blocking us from having intercourse. Every time we tried I would bleed and bleed. I thought maybe part of it was menopause, but I’d actually already been through menopause, so I didn’t know what was going on until the doctors told me it was cancer. It was pretty bad, the tumor had blocked both of my tubes which go from your kidneys to the bladder, so the left kidney was shut down, and the right kidney was on its way out too. The doctors had to do surgery and put tubes in my back that went into each kidney and bypassed my bladder so the kidneys could drain. After they got me stable, I had the chemo and radiation everyday for five months. The radiation has changed everything in my private area. I no longer have hair on my vagina and the canal is very small and has a lot of scar tissue. Every time my husband comes near me it hurts. We haven’t had sex in three years. But he’s supported me so much through everything. We’ve talked about it, and he’d rather have me healthy than worry about the sex part of it. I’m going to physical therapy twice a week and it’s helped me a lot. There are exercises to do, and my therapist has really talked us both through a lot of stuff in the past months. She’s asked him to try to get a little intimate with me, but not to the point where it hurts. He’s willing to do anything it takes to help me get back to where we can be intimate with each other again.
- Community, Uncategorized, Patient StoriesGeneral Page Tier 3BlogWhen Lisa Stiffler’s mother fell critically ill her biggest concern was being by her mother’s side. Although she was hundreds of miles from her home, Lisa was able to focus on what mattered because of the convenience and hospitality of the Hackerman-Patz House for AAMC patient family members. I live in Maine and when I my mom was admitted Anne Arundel Medical Center, we were in crisis and the Hackerman-Patz House was the best thing that ever happened to me. When I got an emergency phone call that my mom was in the intensive care unit, I hopped on the next flight out. It was such an emotional time as I sat with my mom. So all day, I was never thinking, ‘where am I going to stay?’ It was getting late and I asked the nurse about hotels, and she said, “We’ve got plenty of hotels around, but have you ever heard of the Hackerman-Patz House?” It was like a godsend. I was there for 18 days and because it was so reasonable I saved some money on what was a very expensive trip. But it was also just a very comforting place to be. The greeting of the staff and the volunteers were wonderful. After feeling stressed and overwhelmed all day, I felt like the director and staff bent over backwards for me. At the end of the day, I looked forward to going there. It was nice. There were always fresh flowers sitting on the counter. One night I walked in and I didn’t feel like going to bed yet, so I turned on the TV and made a cup of tea. I just relaxed on the comfy couch. There were snacks. Someone had bought fresh fruit. It was just nice that I could sit there and have something healthy. I’d spend the entire day with my mom, then I’d go back to the Hackerman-Patz house to have a cup of coffee or sleep—just go back and forth. And I was able to do laundry. I packed so quickly, I basically had the outfit I came in and a couple days of clothing. Thank God, my mother recovered and after a couple of months in rehab was well enough to go home. But while she was in the hospital, the Hackerman-Patz House just made it so easy for me to be there for her.
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