Blogs

Lovelace Women’s Hospital earns an ‘A’ for safety
BY JOURNAL STAFF REPORT
Tuesday, November 19th, 2019 at 12:02am

Lovelace Women’s Hospital earned an “A” Leapfrog Hospital Safety Grade for Fall 2019, the first time it has received a Leapfrog rating.

In January 2017, a couple from Los Alamos was on their last day of vacation in Cancun, Mexico when their trip took a turn for the worst. Skip Anderson’s wife, Brenda, felt extremely ill.

“The resort doctor diagnosed her with traveler’s diarrhea and she was treated with antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs,” Anderson said. The two extended their trip two extra days.

Waking up on her day off, Sara Piro looked in the mirror to find that everything was normal, except for the fact that she was yellow. Sara had jaundice, a condition in which the skin turns yellow because of a high level of bilirubin, a yellow-orange bile pigment. For the last six months, she had been going to a local emergency room with extreme pain. The cause wasn’t further investigated until she showed up again with yellow skin.

While there are 30 million people in the United States living with diabetes, but one in four don’t even know they are living with the condition. In addition, another 84 million adults, teenagers and children have prediabetes, but 90% are unaware of it. These numbers show the need to bring awareness to diabetes and to clear up any myths the surround this condition.

Discover the truth about diabetes below and be sure to share with your friends and family.

Patient-centered care is the top priority at Lovelace Health System, because focusing on providing quality care to each patient that comes through the doors is vital to successfully treating patients. Over the years, Dr. Richard Roche, internal medicine physician, has made it his mission to develop his approach to patient visits, ensuring that patients not only get the best treatment, but that they also have an experience where they feel listened to and treated with the utmost respect and care.

In March 2018, Alexis Duran, 41, visited an emergency room close to her home in Las Vegas, New Mexico for severe stomach pain. The diagnosis? Acid reflux.

“It was the worst stomach ache I have ever had,” said Duran, who was at her niece’s gymnastics meet when she began experiencing excruciating abdominal pain. “I didn’t know where the pain came from. I thought I caught the stomach flu a week earlier, so I thought it was that still.”

Twenty surgeries.

At age 25, Lacey Hensley has undergone 20 surgeries following a ruptured appendix in April 2017.

“I tell people I’ve had 20 surgeries before 25 and their jaws drop open,” Hensley explained.

A misdiagnosis of appendicitis at a hospital near her home in Bloomfield, New Mexico led the 22-year-old down a path of life-threatening health conditions. Hensley was hospitalized for seven months and treated at two facilities outside of Lovelace Health System.

Not every pregnancy ends with happy outcomes. Pregnancy and infant loss is a harsh reality faced by many. After the loss, you might feel stunned or shocked. You may be asking, "Why me?" You may feel guilty that you did or didn't do something to cause your pregnancy to end. You may feel cheated and angry. Or you may feel extremely sad as you come to terms with the baby that will never be. These emotions are all normal reactions to loss. With time, you will heal. You may grow your family in the future. You will never forget your baby.

It’s possible to treat pain and combat chronic pain with physical therapy, a safe and effective alternative to pain medication.

Physical therapy can help people of all ages with a range of conditions such as lymphedema, arthritis, stroke and more. Anyone from Individuals with health problems that limit their abilities to move and perform daily activities, to as athletes, to older adults and cancer survivors, can all benefit from physical therapy.