Author: St. Elizabeth Healthcare

Due to aging Baby Boomers, there is expected to be a large increase in the number of total hip and total knee joint replacement surgeries performed over the next 10-15 years. As one of the region’s leading healthcare systems, St. Elizabeth Healthcare felt they could improve care for future joint replacement patients by studying their past patients. St. Elizabeth Healthcare clinical research and orthopaedic departments, collaborated with R. Michael Greiwe, MD, an affiliated surgeon with OrthoCincy Orthopaedics & Sports Medicine who practices at St. Elizabeth Healthcare, to review nearly 6,000 health records of patients who received total joint replacement surgery…

With 100,000 beats every day, your heart pumps about 2,000 gallons of blood throughout your body. Your mitral valve plays a critical role in this process, regulating the flow of blood between the upper left heart chamber called the atrium, which receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs, and the left ventricle below it, which pumps blood to all parts of your body. If the mitral valve becomes too loose or tight, problems can develop. More than 5.8 million Americans have mitral valve disease, most of whom are over age 65. If you or someone you love is living with mitral…

Many people think that some health care appointments and procedures are considered elective. The word “elective” implies it is optional, but it just means it can be planned in advance and is non-emergent. Putting off your cataract surgery or colonoscopy to stay out of the hospital, doesn’t mean you don’t need the procedure. By delaying routine medical care, you could be affecting your long-term health as well as your quality of life. Health Screenings Detect Disease Early When it is Most Treatable Regular health screenings such as annual wellness visits, diabetes screening, eye exams, colonoscopies, mammograms, and women’s health visits…

Written by Barrett J. Brunsman St. Elizabeth Healthcare’s hospital in Fort Thomas could be the first in the world to start dosing Covid-19 patients with an experimental drug that might prevent the respiratory illness from causing further lung damage. CTI Clinical Trial & Consulting of Covington is coordinating the study of the drug PUL-042, which is made by an emerging bio-pharmaceutical firm, Pulmotect Inc. of Houston. It took less than a month to get FDA clearance to begin the Phase 2 study involving people, which is extraordinarily quick, said Tim Schroeder, CEO and co-founder of CTI. Edgewood-based St. Elizabeth was…

Delivering a baby in the middle of the COVID-19 health crisis wasn’t exactly on first-time mother Emily Lusk’s radar when she became pregnant. Emily always knew the arrival of her daughter would be memorable for her and her husband – and she was right. Little Mia’s birth story was truly unforgettable – complete with full-blown tornado warnings during their first night at the Family Birth Place at St. Elizabeth Edgewood. “It was a little bit of ‘is this really happening?!’ moment for us,” says Emily. “Our OB came into the bathroom in full PPE gear to check on us as…

Like many things during this pandemic, our approach to support services for cancer patients is changing. We understand these services are even more valuable during this uncertain time, so many have moved online. “It is important that our patients still receive the integrative oncology experience, even while at home,” says Dwinelva Zackery, Director of Integrative Oncology at St. Elizabeth Healthcare. “We have worked with our support partners to make sure that all the services our patients want and need are still available — in another form. Even now, we are making sure no one faces cancer alone.” At St. Elizabeth,…

Although we are still learning a lot about how people with heart disease are affected by COVID-19, one connection is clear. The pandemic is changing how people without symptoms of COVID-19 are seeking care for other health problems they may be experiencing. “We continue to care for patients who need our help and we are still performing necessary procedures,” says D.P. Suresh, MD, Cardiologist and Medical Director, St. Elizabeth Heart & Vascular. “What people need to know is that if you need intervention to prevent or stabilize health conditions, we are here for you.” Hospitals across the country are seeing…

When physicians present at medical conferences, we usually start with a slide disclosing any potential conflicts of interest to our audience. I probably need to disclose two things here. First, I’m an infuriating and inexhaustible optimist. Second, I’m a cancer doctor but also a recent cancer patient myself, and I understand intimately how it feels when your world unexpectedly spins out of control. In one short month, I went from treating patients and helping design and build a new cancer center to becoming a patient myself. With the arrival of COVID-19 on our shores and our lives suddenly looking as…

The new coronavirus (COVID-19) is posing a challenge for cancer patients and cancer survivors who are immunosuppressed (immunocompromised). Cancer – and the therapies used to treat it – often weakens the immune system, reducing the body’s ability to fight infections like COVID-19. This challenge is made even greater due to the fact that, while the nation is being told to stay home to decrease the spread of the virus, many cancer patients still need to go out to receive their therapies. If you’re currently being treated for cancer or still seeing your cancer care team for follow-up appointments take heart…

With the first day of spring in our rearview mirror, many TriState residents know that allergies won’t be far behind. However, this year is shaping up to be very different because of the global COVID-19 pandemic, leaving many of us to wonder what are typical allergy symptoms versus COVID-19 symptoms. The experts at St. Elizabeth Healthcare are here to help you distinguish the difference but caution that if you’re running a fever, you should contact your primary care physician. Allergies are a normal part of life, but the coronavirus could be life-threatening for certain higher-risk patients. Coronavirus symptoms According to…