Mary Lynn Brunemann spent her childhood and adolescence outside and under the sun, including as a competitive swimmer and lifeguard. So when her mom was diagnosed with melanoma, Mary Lynn, a practicing nurse in occupational medicine, knew she had to take extra steps to monitor herself for skin cancer. “I’d always gone to the dermatologist once a year, but I …

Midwives play a unique role in maternity care and delivery. Women around the world experience their invaluable contributions, patient connections and compassionate care. Here at St. Elizabeth Physicians Women’s Health, our certified midwives are integral to our women’s healthcare team. We sat down with St. Elizabeth Physicians patient Zoey Turner to learn about her experience with the midwifery team during …

No doubt about it: mother-daughter relationships are complex. You can be the best of friends, or you can experience conflicts that pull you apart. When a mother and daughter have a difficult relationship, it can take an emotional toll on both and affect their mental health as well. But the mother-daughter bond can’t be broken easily. When both of you …

If you’re preparing to celebrate the Fourth of July with fireworks, remember that fireworks injure thousands of people each year. The American Academy of Ophthalmology (AAO) stresses that fireworks are not toys but incendiary devices that can cause devastating eye injuries. In the most severe cases, fireworks can rupture the globe of the eye, cause chemical and thermal burns, corneal abrasions …

The right clothes can make you feel confident and beautiful. However, the wrong clothes can not only make you uncomfortable, but they can also cause you pain and even make you sick. Two examples are tight pants syndrome from wearing constrictive jeans and foot issues from ill-fitting shoes.   Tight Pants Syndrome It may sound like a made-up condition, but the …

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 …

When Gary Fabre walked into his doctor’s appointment at St. Elizabeth Healthcare in July 2020, he assumed he was only catching up on routine primary care that had been delayed by the pandemic. He felt fine, so what he learned came as a big surprise. “I just went in for an annual check-up. After listening to my heart, my doctor …

What Is Interventional Pain Management and Is It Right for You? If you experience back, neck or knee pain, you know it can get in the way of everyday life. Over 20 million suffer from chronic pain in the U.S. Often this chronic pain doesn’t go away with traditional pain management, such as over-the-counter medicine, physical therapy or lifestyle changes. …

When people are trained in CPR, they learn the importance of calling 9-1-1 right away and the immediate steps to try and save a life – starting with chest compressions. Through CPR training, a person will generally train on a manikin and learn what to expect and how to respond to an unresponsive person who needs help. Even hands-only CPR …

Rachel Wagner, MS, LD, a licensed dietitian at St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center tells us the pros and cons of the hottest diets and how to achieve your long-term weight goals. “Trendy diets tend to have more negatives than positives. Although some of this year’s trends are backed by good research. The positive effect is trendy diets can get …