Are Antibiotics the Answer?

Dr. Amit Sheth is peering into the ear canal of Kaitlyn, Jennifer’s lively pre-schooler who normally giggles and squirms when she’s asked to sit still. Kaitlyn’s nose is running, her cheeks flushed and she appears so lack-luster today that you know she’s down for the count.  “If only I could start her on an antibiotic, she’ll be back to her old self,” Jennifer thinks.

But, although Kaitlyn is suffering from a cold virus, Dr. Sheth sees that her ear passages show no sign of infection.

Many parents are disappointed when they leave the doctor’s office without that magical prescription slip.  But antibiotics aren’t always the answer.  According to Dr. Rakhi Krishnan, an infectious diseases specialist with Shah Associates, antibiotics are a cure for bacterial infections, not viral infections.

“Viruses like the common cold, cough and flu do not respond to antibiotics,” Dr. Krishnan explains. “They will not cure an infection, will not help you feel better or keep others from catching your illness.” In fact, using antibiotics when they are not needed causes some bacteria to become resistant to the antibiotic. These resistant bacteria are stronger and harder to kill.

On the other hand, if antibiotics are prescribed to treat a bacterial infection - such as strep throat or an ear infection - be sure to take all of the medicine as directed.  If you stop taking the antibiotic because you “feel better,” resistant bacteria could still develop, making you feel under the weather again.

Summer 2004 Cover Story

A Delicate Balance
Dealing with hyper- and hypothyroidism

Dealing with Karen Harris was losing weight, but she hadn’t been on Atkins or Jenny Craig.  Her kids tiptoed around her after school, saying she snapped at them at the drop of a hat.  She worried constantly about silly little problems - a drip in the kitchen sink, a lost list for summer camp.  Karen’s heart felt like it was racing.  Her hands shook, and she couldn’t sleep at night.  What on earth was going on? 

After a thorough workup at her physician’s office, Karen learned she had hyperthyroidism.  With too much thyroid hormone in her body, her system was in overdrive.
In a neighboring sub-division, her friend, Anita, had other challenges.  Anita felt run down and depressed.  She could barely get up in the morn-ing, and felt sluggish as she went through her daily routine.  Her skin and hair felt dry and brittle, and she was putting on pounds for no apparent reason.

After a blood test and a physical exam, Anita learned she had hypothyroidism, or too little of the vital thyroid hormone. Both conditions are highly treatable under the care of a physician.  Here at St. Mary's Hospital, we are fortunate to have a specialty known as endocrinologyDr. Anupam Srivastava is a new endocrinologist practicing with Shah Associates.  He specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of problems within the body’s chemical communication systems.  These systems provide the means to control many physiologic processes. Like other communication networks, endocrine systems contain transmitters (hormone producing cells), signals (hormones) and receivers (receptors).

In addition to thyroid problems, Dr. Srivastava deals with conditions like diabetes, pituitary disorders, menstrual difficulties and hormonal issues.

Fall 2004 Cover Story

Caring Beyond Our Walls

No, the caring doesn’t stop at the automatic exit.  When those doors swoosh open to let you out into the streets of your neighborhood, you’ll still find our people helping others.  You’ll find them in soup kitchens, in camps for challenged children, at the forensic unit of our local sheriff’s office, or on the doorstep of a family in need.

As a non-profit hospital, we make it our business to be a valuable resource to our community.  The families of people we see for stitches and surgeries are the same ones we take in hand as we wind a blood pressure cuff on their arm at the neighborhood health fair.  They’re the same ones we see in line at the grocery store, struggling to make ends meet or balancing a baby and a toddler as they reach for a box of animal crackers.  They are the lifeblood of our community, and an integral part of our caring circle.

You’ll meet some of these amazing individuals in our 2004 Annual Report.  Take Sharon Main, for instance, a vital part of our hospital Education and Training team.  Sharon knows that heart disease and stroke are leading causes of death in St. Mary's County.  St. Mary's Hospital takes seriously our role in the county’s fight to reduce the mortality of heart attack, cardiac arrest and stroke.  With a strong commitment from employees like Sharon, we have expanded the educational opportunities for cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) programs to include pre-hospital and hospital providers. 

Through an agreement with the American Heart Association (AHA), St. Mary's Hospital is a Community Training Center that oversees approved Emergency Cardiac Care (ECC) courses. Since 1999, St. Mary's Hospital has accepted the responsibility to conduct courses (and authorize instructors, within and outside the facility, to conduct courses) according to AHA guidelines and curriculum in our designated geographic area.  St. Mary's Hospital is the only hospital in the Southern Maryland region that is an AHA Training Center.

As the AHA Training Center Coordinator at St. Mary's Hospital, Sharon Main, Staff Educator, St. Mary's Hospital, believes that it is important to promote and provide CPR training to as many people as possible in our community.  Our Basic Life Support (BLS) instructors are not only employees of the hospital but also are members of the community at local schools, volunteer rescue squads, the advanced life support unit, volunteer fire departments, and contractors affiliated with Patuxent River Naval Air Station. We have over 60 instructors affiliated with our training center and we provide them with the latest AHA information on the recognition and treatment of cardiac arrest and stroke.  With these partnerships, our training center provides CPR classes to over 1000 people in the county each year.

In addition to providing BLS classes, we also teach Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (PALS) classes. Through a strong alliance with the pre-hospital health care providers in the county, the ACLS and PALS courses are offered to the employees in critical care areas, physicians, and the volunteer advanced life support paramedics in the community as well as physicians and medical personnel from Patuxent River Naval Air Station at no charge. “Sharon was recently recognized by the local Emergency Medical Services (EMS) community for her thorough facilitation of our required training,” said Winnie Sullivan, local paramedic.  “She truly understands the needs of volunteers and goes the extra mile to accommodate their schedule anyway she can.  She knows we work full-time jobs and run regular duty shifts on the ambulance.  Her flexibility makes all of our training much easier,” Winnie added.

Winter 2004 Cover Story

Recognizing Excellence in All We Do

Raising the bar has always been a priority for St. Mary's Hospital. And in October 2004, the hours of hard work, dedication and desire for excellence were recognized not once, but twice. Receiving both the Compass Award and the Medicare Excellence Award were enormous accomplishments for the hospital, and neither would have been possible without the teamwork that’s obvious every day.

We’ve all heard the old adage: “There is no “I” in “TEAM.” And at St. Mary's Hospital, the Board members, physicians and employees have proven that they know and value the importance of collaboration. Because of our significant and sustained quality improvement, the Delmarva Foundation, Maryland’s Medicare quality improvement organization, annouced that SHM was the recipient of their prestigious Campaign for 2004 Medicare Excellence Award. Maulik Joshi, DrPH, Delamarva’s President and CEO, congratulated the staff and leadership stating, “By making some systemic changes, St. Mary's Hospital has improved care for patients undergoing surgery and those who enter the hospital to be treated for heart attacks, heart failure and pneumonia.” Out of the 46 hospitals in Maryland, SMH was one of only six hospitals to receive this award. In a special ceremony on October 19, 2004, special representatives and family members gathered to receive the award.

Soon after learning about its Medicare Excellence win, the hospital discovered that it was also the recipeient of the Compass Award. Presented by Press Ganey Associates, the leader in healthcare satisfaction and improvement, the award recognizes the major improvements that have taken place in the SMH Emergency Care Center. While recent renovations increased the size of the Center, it was the committed team of Nursing, Medical Staff, Performance Measurement, Lab, Diagnostic Imaging, Environmental Services, Patient Registration and Patient Advocates, among others who made the improvement possible.

With the new fiscal year already in full swing, hospital staff members are looking forward to meeting new goals. The desire for improvement is alive and well at St. Mary's Hospital – and we’re looking forward to providing the community with the best possible care in the coming year.