I-80 Trailblazer Challenge: Discharge checklist

Building a culture of innovation in health care is tough, especially when you have nearly 23,000 Mission Partners across multiple cities and states. But OSF Innovation is making it happen by developing hospital-based Innovation Hubs where anyone across the Ministry can learn to engage in improvement, creative thinking and executing solutions.

The first hub was launched this year at OSF HealthCare Saint Paul Medical Center in Mendota, Illinois, to cover the I-80 Region. This also included the kickoff of an OSF Trailblazer Challenge, where Mission Partners could win the chance to test, develop and pilot solutions to improve the hospital discharge process.

This led to 39 ideas, with four being selected for either further development or implementation. As part of a four-part blog series, we will highlight each of the finalists.

Getting patients engaged in the discharge process

Katy McDonald, a Performance Improvement Specialist for OSF HealthCare Saint Elizabeth Medical

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Physical activity and cancer prevention

The benefits of exercise are well documented: good mental health, weight management, strong bones and muscles, and improving our ability to do everyday activities.

Here is another important reason to stay active – reducing your risk for cancer.

Why is physical activity important?

Getting and keeping a strong, healthy body improves its ability to deliver oxygen to cells. According to Jomel Labayog, MD, hematologist and medical oncologist with OSF HealthCare, healthy cells grow and replicate properly, helping us to avoid cancer.

“Our cells are constantly replicating themselves. A vast majority of our cells are replaced every seven to 10 years,” Dr. Labayog said. “Cancers and other ailments often result from unhealthy cells replicating. A tumor can result, and the new growth starts its lifecycle.

“Healthy cells will most likely reproduce healthy cells and vice versa. Physical activity and good nutrition help to flush out toxins, deliver oxygen to cells and

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Is Natural Birth Control Really Worth the Hype? – Health Tips

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Recently there have been a lot of talks – big and small, on how women can ditch pills, IUDs (intrauterine devices), and latex to prevent pregnancy by natural methods. But what are natural methods anyway, and do they even work? If you are equally curious, then hold on; just read a little further. We will give you a little wiki to understand the what, how, ifs, and buts of natural birth control methods!

1. First Things First, What Are Natural Birth Control Methods?

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Natural birth control methods, otherwise known as FAMs (fertility awareness methods), and the rhythm method, involve preventing pregnancy by measuring basal body temperature, the thickness of the cervical mucus, tracking dates for ovulation and menses, and the classic pull-out method.

2. The Sanitized Sales Pitch

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If you have been wondering how these methods work, here are some basics. The rhythm method requires women to calculate the ovulation

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From patient to innovation engineer

By the time Mark Hanley was 14, he had undergone two surgeries to fix multiple heart defects. A year shy of high school, he learned he would need one more.

Mark’s mind was put at ease when Dr. Matthew Bramlet, a pediatric cardiologist at OSF HealthCare Children’s Hospital of Illinois, showed him a 3D model of his heart from Jump Simulation, a part of OSF Innovation, that would be used to plan his surgery.

“It was kind of an out-of-body experience, but it was reassuring knowing my surgeon was able to view my heart and get a better understanding of its anatomy before the operation,” said Mark. “My only concern was whether I’d be able to go to school and play baseball.”

The surgery was a success. Mark was able to go to school full time and play a variety of sports. Six years later, he is now an

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Protect yourself with the flu shot for seniors

The flu is nothing to mess with. It’s important for everyone to do what they can to stay healthy, but it’s especially important for seniors.

People age 65 or older should be aware of new guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that recommends getting an enhanced adjuvanted vaccine or high-dose flu vaccine for greater protection.

Due to immune system changes that happen as we age, people age 65 and older do not have as strong of a response to vaccination. This diminished immune response makes older adults more vulnerable to develop complications from the flu. Older adults account for 70-85% of seasonal flu-related deaths and 50-70% of flu-related hospitalizations, according to the CDC.

Flu symptoms in seniors

Flu symptoms for seniors are the same as they are for other populations: fever, cough, runny nose, headache, fatigue, aches, sore throat and a stuffy nose.

While these symptoms

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Put On Your Flu-Shield This Flu Season – Health Tips

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As if we do not already have enough to worry about with COVID-19 making a comeback, flu season is at its ferocious start. The severity of the flu season from 2020 to 2021 was among the lowest ever, thanks to people’s efforts to prevent COVID-19, such as mask use and social distancing. However, a spike in flu cases is the present scenario due to people returning to work with weakened immune systems from not being exposed to the virus last year. According to the director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 14 children have died this flu season, and hospitalization rates for influenza are at their highest levels in the United States in ten years.

Although there is no one-way method to get 100 percent protection against the flu, you can reduce the risk of getting sick. Here are a few suggestions for staying healthy and

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Dealing with cancer treatment stress

Receiving a cancer diagnosis is an extremely stressful experience. Not only do you have to cope with the fear and anxiety of having a possibly life-threatening condition, but you have to begin right away dealing with treatment options, financial concerns and logistics.

“When you’re in the doctor’s office, it’s very overwhelming,” said Patricia Ramirez, a breast cancer nurse navigator at OSF HealthCare. “It’s easy to miss hearing about the first step of treatment or your staging information after hearing the news of your diagnosis.”

Seemingly all at once, a cancer patient has to deal with anxiety, their own heavy emotions, as well as those of friends and family, insurance coverage questions, scheduling treatments and securing transportation back and forth.

In addition, a tidal wave of important medical information floods your brain.

It all adds up to information overload and a huge amount of stress.

Stress management for cancer patients

Spiritual

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Tart cherry juice benefits: Do they live up to the hype?

Over the last few years, tart cherry juice has been heralded as a “superfood” containing nutrients that can help critical aspects of our health, including:

  • Improve sleep
  • Reduce inflammation caused by gout and other forms of arthritis
  • Lower blood pressure
  • Reduce the risk of heart disease
  • Prevent or slow cancer growth
  • Improve brain function

But is there enough research to support these claims?

Sources of potential benefits

Tart cherries contain a wide variety of vitamins and minerals, including a significant percentage of the recommended daily intake of vitamins A and C for adults. But their anthocyanins are the source of most of the potential benefits that have so many people talking.

Anthocyanins are the pigments that give red, purple and blue fruits and vegetables their color. Aside from making these foods look pretty, these pigments are also high in antioxidants, which play a key role in destroying harmful cells known

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Measles: The Global Re-Birth – Health Tips

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With this news going around, you might have heard about it too: we are facing the resurgence of measles worldwide! Yes, sadly, it is happening all over again for real, and this time’s count is the greatest since its elimination in 2000. The next question that pops would be: why, though? Well, we are all aware that the measles vaccination campaigns have been halted worldwide due to the coronavirus pandemic, and that, people, is exactly the cause of this rebirth. The under-vaccination of millions of children for measles has certainly blown up on our faces with this imminent global threat, says the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

According to their report, approximately 25 million children missed their first dose of the measles vaccine in 2021, and another 15 million children missed their second dose. A further dig into this topic…

 
 

1. Measles

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When are you considered a cancer survivor?

For most cancer patients, especially those with an early stage of cancer, surviving cancer is the goal of treatment. You want to go from being a cancer patient to being a cancer survivor.

At what point does a person achieve the status of cancer survivor, and what does life after cancer look like?

The definition of “cancer survivor” can be different depending on whom you ask and why. It’s not completely black and white.

According to the American Cancer Society, the term “cancer survivor” is defined as anyone with cancer regardless of what stage of treatment they are going through.

Erin Mclaughlin is an oncology nurse navigator for OSF HealthCare whose job is to support cancer patients and serve as their advocate through every step of their cancer journey.

“We have cancer patients who are going through maintenance therapy as part of a palliative care plan,” Erin said. “Their

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