The Methodist Health System Joint Academy offers vital help in preparing both mentally and physically for joint replacement surgery while offering some of the latest minimally invasive techniques to restore mobility and quality of life with less pain and faster recovery time. Reports indicate that pre-surgical education directly involving patients and answering their questions helps speed recovery and achieves enhanced outcomes.

After scheduling hip or knee replacement surgery with an independently practicing orthopedic surgeon on the Methodist medical staff, joint replacement patients are invited to participate in the free Methodist Joint Academy. In the Academy, patients receive a two-hour course from caring, expert Methodist staff members who give them a preview and overview of what to expect – step-by-step – before, during, and after surgery. Patients are invited to bring along a family member or friend.

“This works just like a seminar or workshop that allows our patients to gain a real feeling of comfort up front about the joint replacement process before it happens,” says Jennifer Tullis, orthopedic coordinator at Methodist Dallas Medical Center. “It gives us a chance to prepare our patients in every way possible so they feel at ease and informed about their treatment, get acquainted with the hospital where they’ll be, and meet some of the staff.”

Held on the hospital campus, the Joint Academy offers a comfortable learning environment with a handful of fellow patients. The one-day program includes:
·         A concierge to greet and guide patients to the classroom
·         Priority access to required pre-op testing (at Methodist Dallas)
·         Express registration to eliminate delays on the day of surgery
·         Engaging classroom instruction about what to expect from pre-op, joint replacement surgery, and recovery— taught by Methodist Joint Academy clinical specialists
·         A tour of the orthopedic floor, designed specifically for the needs and comfort of joint replacement surgery patients
·         Discussion with a small group of fellow joint replacement patients to build camaraderie and provide motivation and support after hip or knee surgery
·         A free “uniform”– t-shirt and shorts with the Methodist Joint Academy logo
·         Opportunity to meet some of the multidisciplinary health care professionals who will be involved in the patient’s care
·         Free validated parking

Reports indicate that such pre-surgical education directly involving patients and answering their questions helps speed recovery and also achieves enhanced outcomes. It’s all done in a comfortable classroom setting where patients become “students.” Methodist shows them how best to regain their movement and gives them personalized service in feeling at home and ease for their stay.

“We keep the class groups small so that our Joint Academy patients get great personal attention, and have a chance to share and support one another,” says Cherie James, orthopedic coordinator at Methodist Charlton Medical Center. “We give them a great start for a speedy recovery.”

Painful hip, knee, and shoulder joints can rob a person’s freedom of movement.  Methodist Health System offers complete care for patients needing surgery to replace joints damaged by injury, deformity, or degenerative diseases such as arthritis.

To learn more about the Methodist Joint Academy at Methodist Dallas Medical Center and Methodist Charlton Medical Center or find an orthopedic surgeon on the medical staff of Methodist Health System, call 214-947-0044 or 1-866-584-8104, or visit www.methodisthealthsystem.org/jointacademy

Watch and Learn: Watch these animations to learn more about orthopedic procedures www.methodisthealthsystem.org/orthopedicanimations

“Today we passed another critical milestone in the health reform effort with the release of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act. I was particularly pleased to see that the Congressional Budget Office has estimated that the bill will reduce the deficit by $127 billion over the next ten years and as much as $650 billion in the decade following, saving hundreds of billions while extending coverage to 31 million more Americans.

From day one, our goal has been to enact legislation that offers stability and security to those who have insurance and affordable coverage to those who don’t, and that lowers costs for families, businesses and governments across the country. Majority Leader Reid, Chairmen Baucus and Dodd, and countless Senators have worked tirelessly to craft legislation that meets those principles.

Just yesterday, a bipartisan group of more than 20 leading health economists released a letter urging passage of meaningful reform and praising four key provisions that are in the Senate legislation: a fee on insurance companies offering high-premium plans, the establishment of an independent Medicare commission, reforms to the health care delivery system, and overall deficit neutrality. The economists said that these provisions ‘will reduce long-term deficits, improve the quality of care, and put the nation on a firm fiscal footing.’ Those are precisely the goals we should be seeking to attain.

The challenges facing our health care system aren’t new – but if we fail to act they’ll surely get even worse, meaning higher premiums, skyrocketing costs, and deeper instability for those with coverage. Today, thanks to the Senate’s hard work, we’re closer than ever to enacting solutions to these problems. I look forward to working with the Senate and House to get a finished bill to my desk as soon as possible.”

How to Tell You need Healthcare Reform

Choose the Public Option

Spin

As with so many issues, if the state of our health care system is a crisis for America, it’s a catastrophe for black America. On average, African Americans spend a higher percentage of their income on health care costs than their white counterparts. Yet despite that spending, we also suffer from higher percentages of chronic diseases such as heart disease, kidney disease and diabetes. That’s due, at least in part, to a lack of access to quality affordable care.
For too long, Washington has talked about fixing our broken health care system, only to allow the same old partisan politics and special interest lobbying to block change. But this isn’t a Democratic issue or a Republican one – it’s a moral imperative. That’s why President Obama has put forth a health insurance reform plan that borrows good ideas from both sides of the aisle, even from his opponents in both the primary and general elections.

This plan does three basic things:

*If you have insurance it will provide you more stability and security.

*If you don’t have insurance, it will provide you affordable options.

*And it will slow the unsustainable cost of health care for American families, businesses, and taxpayers.

If you don’t have insurance – and one in five African Americans don’t – the President’s plan will provide you affordable options the same way Members of Congress get them: by creating an exchange where you can leverage the purchasing power of a large group to get reasonable prices and choose the option that’s best for you and your family. If you still can’t afford coverage, we will provide you a tax credit to help.

Barnes also participated in a BET News Special called “Critical Condition: What’s at Stake In Health Care Reform.” Below you can view the discussion hosted by Jeff Johnson.

WASHINGTON—A national physicians group is suing Kentucky Fried Chicken (KFC) under California law for failing to warn consumers that the chain’s new grilled chicken product contains a dangerous carcinogen.

Independent laboratory tests show that KFC’s grilled chicken contains PhIP, a chemical that can increase a person’s risk of developing cancer even if consumed in small amounts. The lawsuit was filed Sept. 23 in the Superior Court of the State of California, County of San Francisco.

“Grilled chicken can increase the risk of cancer, and KFC consumers deserve to know that this supposedly healthy product is actually just as bad for them as high-fat fried chicken,” says Neal D. Barnard, M.D., the president of Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM). “KFC should post warnings because its aggressively marketed new product harbors a chemical that increases the risk of breast cancer, prostate cancer, and other forms of this lethal disease.”

A PCRM scientist visited six different KFC stores, obtained two samples from each location, and sent them to an independent testing laboratory. All 12 samples were found to contain PhIP, a chemical classified as a carcinogen by the federal government, the state of California, and the International Agency for Research on Cancer. PhIP, part of a chemical family known as heterocyclic amines (HCAs), has been linked to several forms of cancer, including breast cancer, in numerous scientific studies. No safe level of ingestion has been identified. Every sample also tested positive for at least one additional type of HCA.

KFC is clearly in violation of California’s public health law, known as Proposition 65. “In order to adequately comply with the requirements of Proposition 65, Defendant must conspicuously post specific warnings with respect to the carcinogenic dangers of the grilled chicken that it offers for sale,” says PCRM in its complaint. PCRM has already sued McDonald’s, Chick-fil-A, and five other national restaurant chains that sell grilled chicken containing PhIP.

Founded in 1985, the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is a nonprofit health organization that promotes preventive medicine, conducts clinical research, and encourages higher standards for ethics and effectiveness in research.

Mr. Reid is a journalist who has worked on three continent and has had an up close look at healthcare across the world.  Mr. Reid starts the interview explaining how the term “socialized medicine” was created by a PR firm in the 1940’s.  He can a really interesting quote after that.

The amazing thing is it’s still a powerful argument. I don’t know that anybody can define socialize medicine, but nobody seems to like it, except, Terry, when Americans get government-run medicine, they really like it.

The VA, the Native American Health Service and Medicare are the three most popular health care systems in America, all run by government.

Another great quote from the interview ,  “All over the world, people say that. If you complain about health care, they say ‘well, you want to move to America? You think that’s better?’”

This conversation (as most are with Terry) is fascinating.  Reid easily breaks down the myths associated with foreign healthcare, and how America is behind all other “rich democracies” when it comes to health. Listen to the audio above or check out the transcript of Reid and Gross’ discussion for easy compare/contrast.