BIDMC News and Notes
5/29/2009 (8:06:08am)Tags: noneComments: (0)
The CBS Evening News has taken a look at BIDMC's handling of the financial hurdles being faced by employers -- and employees -- around the country.
The story follows similiar looks by the NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and NBC Nightly News.
5/28/2009 (12:57:39pm)Tags: noneComments: (0)
BIDMC's Parent Connection celebrated its 10th anniversary this month.
Launched as a program providing support for first time mothers in the form of weekly phone calls and a support group, today it offers a Mentoring Moms Service and a New Moms Group.
The mentoring program matches first-time mothers with experienced volunteers who call the new mom weekly for the first 12-weeks post-partum, or "the fourth trimester."
To learn more about where the programd and where groups meet, click here.
5/27/2009 (9:58:05am)Tags: cancer researchComments: (0)
Lewis Cantley, PhD, Director of the Cancer Center at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center will be leading a "Dream Team" looking for potential treatment for breast,ovarian and endometrial cancer.
Cantley, a research pioneer whose discovery of a molecular pathway known as PI3K, one of the most promising avenues for the development of personalized cancer therapies, is leading a team that will receive $15 million in funding from a national coalition called Stand Up To Cancer (SU2C).
A charitable initiative created by the Entertainment Industry Foundation and administered through the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR), SU2C was created one year ago with the goal of getting new cancer treatments to patients in an accelerated timeframe.
Following a rigorous selection process, five scientific groups -- comprised of more than 300 individuals from 20 institutions and headed up by seven leaders, four co-leaders and 27 principal researchers, as well as patient advocacy representatives -- were awarded the three-year grants.
For more details, including a video with Cantley, click here.
5/27/2009 (9:44:22am)Tags: heartburn pneumoniaComments: (0)
Ever since a class of drugs called proton pump inhibitors were introduced to the market in the late 1980s, the use of these acid-suppressive medications for symptoms of heartburn, acid reflux and other gastrointestinal symptoms has grown tremendously.
This widespread use has extended to the inpatient hospital setting, where patients are often routinely given the medications as a way to prevent the development of stress ulcers.
But, a large prospective study, led by investigators at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (BIDMC) finds that this routine practice may actually be harmful to patients. In their research, published in of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), the researchers found that acid-suppressive medications were associated with a 30 percent increased risk of developing hospital-acquired pneumonia.
The New York Times looks at the study here.
5/26/2009 (12:16:53pm)Tags: noneComments: (0)
One of the hardest thing for many people to do is draw the line on what is heart burn and what is a heart attack.
Knowing when to call the doctor and when to muddle through is the focus of this Boston Globe article, which includes the thoughts of BIDMC primary care physician Tom Delbanco.
5/20/2009 (4:54:09pm)Tags: noneComments: (0)
BIDMC's interpreter services department just marked its 30th anniversary, gowing from one Russian interpreter in 1979 to more than 60 people speaking more than 40 languages today.
To learn more about the celebration, click here. For more information about the program, click here.
5/19/2009 (2:31:37pm)Tags: noneComments: (0)
National Nurses Week has come and gone but it was not forgotten at BIDMC.
More than 300 guests attended last week's Annual Nursing Awards, held at Fenway Park. For details on scholarship and award recipients, click here.
5/18/2009 (3:41:07pm)Tags: noneComments: (0)
As President Barack Obama calls for streamlining heath care by fully converting to electronic medical records and as Congress prepares to debate issues of patient privacy, one question has largely gone unasked: What do patients want?
A qualitative study led by a research team at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center helps answer that question. The study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine suggests patients want full access to all of their medical records, are willing to make some privacy concessions in the interest of making their medical records completely transparent, and that, going forward, fully expect that computers will play a major role in their medical care, even substituting for face-to-face doctor visits.
5/18/2009 (3:23:20pm)Tags: walkig fitnessComments: (0)
This month, take a step toward better health-- join The Walking Club. Experts from the Tanger Be Well Center, the Department of Outpatient Rehabilitation, and the CardioVascular Institute provide everything you need to start your own walking program.
Learn proper technique, print out a daily log, or an invitation to invite a coworker to take a walking break with you. Plus, check out our free corporate walking kit which has already inspired Boston businesses and organizations like the Lenox Hotel, Neiman Marcus and the Boston Symphony to create a walking initiative for their employees.
To learn more, www.thebostonchannel.com/health, http://www.wror.com/ www.wtkk.com (click "your health"), and www.bidmc.org/walking.
5/15/2009 (10:55:57am)Tags: ulcers bacteria nutritionComments: (0)
Nearly 20 years ago, it was discovered that bacteria known as Helicobacter pylori were responsible for stomach ulcers. Since then, antibiotics have become the primary therapy used to combat the H. pylori infection, which affects approximately six percent of the world population and is also a primary cause of stomach cancer. But today the bacteria is growing increasingly resistant to antibiotics.
Now a study led by scientists at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology demonstrates that the amino acid glutamine, found in many foods as well as in dietary supplements, may prove beneficial in offsetting gastric damage caused by H. pylori infection.
To learn more about the study in the May 2009 issue of The Journal of Nutrition, and the possibility of an alternative to antibiotics for the treatment of stomach ulcers, click here.
