Author: St. Elizabeth Healthcare

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, depression is considered one of the most common mental disorders in the United States, affecting more than 10 million adults a year. Depression is often caused by something specific, such as a loved one passing away or a stressful work or home life situation. However, sometimes depression can just happen. Learning about depression can help you spot it in yourself and others – making it easier to get help when you or a loved one need it. Depression Symptoms: What You Need to Know Symptoms of depression can be tricky to spot.…

Your healthcare provider designs your annual wellness to fit your specific health needs each year. Whether you see your primary care provider multiple times a year or just once, these visits ensure you maintain your health. As your needs and your lifestyle habits change, your annual wellness visit is a great opportunity to make new health goals for the future. Brittany Sullivan, MD, Family Medicine at St. Elizabeth Burlington Primary Care says, “We want to keep our patients healthy and prevent the diseases before they happen. Your annual wellness visits are very important for the preventative side of medicine.” During…

Did you know that cervical cancer can be a preventable disease? The month of January marks Cervical Cancer Screening Month – and the goal is to heighten awareness that cervical cancer can be prevented with an annual screening. St. Elizabeth Healthcare is proud to join other healthcare providers across the nation to encourage conversations about cervical cancer, the Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) and the HPV vaccine. “It’s so important to get the knowledge out there,” says Dr. Robert Neff, Gynecologic Oncologist at St. Elizabeth. “This disease can truly be prevented with the appropriate precautions.” Cervical Cancer: The Basics Cervical cancer…

At St. Elizabeth, we’re committed to helping our region fight cancer through education, preventive screenings and cutting-edge treatment not just on #WorldCancerDay but every day. Download this infographic about cancer in the Commonwealth and what we’re doing to combat it. Click on the infographic below to see what to look for in men and women, then right click and save it to share with your social media followers.

Clinical Trials: First or Last Line of Treatment? Clinical trials are often regarded as a last resort for treatment, reserved for those patients who have exhausted all other options. However, the cancer care experts at the St. Elizabeth Clinical Research Institute are committed to shattering this myth and educating cancer patients and their families about the positives of clinical trials. The key message: not only are clinical trials available to patients at any point in their treatment plan, the St. Elizabeth team now encourages patients to consider clinical trials as a first line of treatment. Clinical Trials: An Edge on…

Did You Injure Yourself with Your New Year’s Fitness Resolution? New Year’s resolutions are filled with good intentions. You may have started on January 1 by running three miles, even though you haven’t exercised in six months. Maybe you went to an advanced Crossfit class remembering what you could do three years ago. Often when you try too much too soon, your enthusiasm can quickly lead to injury. Brad Bolte, MHA, LAT, ATC, head athletic trainer at St. Elizabeth Healthcare explains this is very common, “At this time of year, we see a lot of patients for tendonitis, muscle strains…

New Study Results Make a Positive Impact on GERD Patients More than 30 to 40 million Americans are affected by gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) each year. If you are suffering from GERD, you know the struggle: painful heartburn and regurgitation, which is when food and/or stomach acid comes back up into your esophagus at all times of day and night. Many GERD patients take over-the-counter PPI (proton pump inhibitor) medications to help control their acid levels, to varying degrees of success. The medications may help you for a period of time, but heartburn and regurgitation can slowly return in 30%…

The cold weather doesn’t give you a pass to stop exercising. Outdoor walks may be out of the question for you, but there are still plenty of ways to keep active and move during the cold, dark winter months. Rachel Wagner, MS, LD, a Licensed Dietitian at the St. Elizabeth Physicians Weight Management Center, offers some tips on finding ways to exercise indoors this winter. Join a gym or take gym-based classes. Gyms may get crowded in the first few months of the year, but it is a great way to get moving and meet new people with the same…

If you are pregnant or considering getting pregnant, prenatal care should be at the top of your to do list, right along with baby names and picking out a crib. With the right prenatal care, both you and your baby’s health will be a priority through all nine months of pregnancy – and beyond. What are prenatal tests? Prenatal tests are medical tests that are completed at specific times throughout pregnancy. As a part of your prenatal care, obstetricians use prenatal testing to learn valuable information about mother and baby. “Prenatal tests can help detect any problems that could affect…

If you are like most people, you spend the entire month of December eating your way through a gingerbread forest—full of gumdrops, candy, cookies, icing and everything sweet. But holidays aren’t the only reason people love sugar—it can also help calm nerves, stress and anxiety for some people. Sugar provides a quick rush of endorphins to keep us calm and make us feel better. Make this the year you stop your addiction to sugar and sweet treats. In the United States, added sugars account for up to 17 percent of the total calorie intake of adults—seven percent more than dietary recommendations.…