James Britt, a selfless man, deserved honor

The Daily News, originally published on 7/22/2012

Chaplain James Britt has devoted a large part of his life to serving the Lord. In that time, he has served Him and those he has touched with great respect and dedication.

Britt is well known in our community. When he’s not spending time with his beloved family, writing passionate letters to this newspaper or walking his dog around town, he can be found volunteering as a hospital chaplain at The Medical Center.

Britt, who was a pastor before serving as a hospital chaplain, began consoling patients in 1978 when he worked as a full-time chaplain at the former city-county hospital.

He has given so much to the hospital in his visits to patients over three decades. We believe because of his devotion to those patients and The Medical Center that the prayer room at the hospital’s Hospitality House, which will be called Chaplain James Britt Prayer Room, was a very fitting recognition.

On Monday, Britt believed he was going to the Hospitality House to see a patient, but instead walked into a large crowd assembled to honor him and to witness the dedication of the room.

Britt’s daughter and son-in-law, Beth and David Bradford, and a friend, Coverall Biggers, donated a total of $100,000 to Hospitality House and requested that the prayer room be named for Britt.

Britt was very humbled by the honor and was brought to tears by the event.

Britt, during his time at The Medical Center, has encountered his share of tough situations where he is with patients in their final days or hours, and he has seen the sudden death of children. But good has come out of those very difficult experiences. Britt has formed many meaningful relationships and friendships through his work.

Bradford said, “It’s just in honor of a giant among men – one of the greatest men I know. It’s just ... a very appropriate place for his name to last forever.”

These are words well spoken.

Britt’s acts are selfless. We could think of no one more deserving to have been honored in this manner.

Copyright 2012 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

How to survive fair food: Once-a-year splurge is fine, but some choices are healthier than others

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 7/21/2012

Do you wait eagerly for county fair season so that you can indulge in funnel cakes? That sweet treat will add 750 calories and 44 grams of fat to your thighs.

Maybe you think a corn dog sounds better. You’ll have to walk four miles to make sure it doesn’t expand your waistline.

Does the thought of a smoked turkey leg make your mouth water? Surely that has to be healthy – it’s turkey and it’s smoked. It’s worth it if you’re willing to pay the price of devouring 1,150 calories and 54 grams of fat. You’ll have to walk 11 miles to make up the balance.

The county fair may be a great place to enjoy wild rides, but it isn’t a place to go wild for the food, said Linda Howsen, registered dietitian with The Medical Center Medical Nutrition Therapy Program, who researched statistics for popular foods at county fairs.

“A splurge once a year at the county fair is OK. Make sure it’s a one-time splurge,” she said. “The problem is if it becomes once a week or once a day. We have to watch that because we tend to become a society of splurges.”

Part of the reason people tend to indulge more at fairs is because of mindless eating, Howsen said.

“It’s like watching TV and other activities and not focusing on the food,” she said. “It’s the lights, music, rides, talking – you tend to lose track of what you’re eating, and that’s a danger.”

Overeating isn’t the only hazard. Fair foods can be hard on the teeth. Dr. Devin Hall of Chandler Park Dentistry said that a variety of foods, particularly carbohydrate-laden ones, can cause tooth decay.

“When it comes to teeth and oral health, foods that you find at the fair are probably not going to do anything worse than typical food. A green bean can have a bit of sugar in it. If we eat that in the wrong way, that could hurt as much as bowls of M&Ms,” he said.

“I’m not one to tell people not to enjoy that type of thing,” he added. “The frequency gets us, but not the treat every now and then.”

Good oral hygiene is always important to keep the mouth in a healthy state, Hall said.

“After we enjoy them, there’s nothing wrong with getting a good toothbrush and floss to clean them up after that,” he said.

One of the better food choices may be a surprise since it’s sweet. Cotton candy has 170 calories and no fat, Howsen said.

“You have to walk for one mile to burn it off,” she said. “It’s a good option.”

Other healthier options include corn on the cob on a stick, fruit, a small ice cream cone, a pickle, a caramel apple, a small bag of popcorn with no added butter or a snow cone, Howsen said.

“It’s always about the portions. Smaller portions equal lower in calories,” she said.

When considering what to eat, check out the food choices, Howsen said.

“You don’t want to fill up on the high-calorie things before you check out the lower calorie choices. Think about three things you’re going to choose,” she said. “Don’t graze and have a little bit at this stand and a little bit at that stand.”

In fact, those considerations can be made before leaving home.

“Eat or drink something before you go to the fair. If you’re hungry before you walk in, you may choose high calorie foods,” Howsen said.

Seek out grilled food instead of fried food, Howsen said.

“When you look for grilled meat, look for one that’s not ground – pork chop (instead of) hamburger,” she said.

Walk as much as possible to help burn off the calories, and make sure to drink a lot of water, Howsen said.

“You need water so you will be hydrated because you’re going to be hot,” she said. “Take a water bottle and fill it at the water fountain.”

Stands featuring local foods may help with finding healthier options, Howsen said.

“Maybe a farmer has set up a stand with fresh apples and peaches or corn on the cob on a stick,” she said. “Eat it with less butter and a little salt or no butter.”

Sharing splurges will make all the difference, Howsen said.

“It’ll save each of you 400 calories with a funnel cake,” she said.

Most of all, remember that your body is not a trash can.

“It’s OK to throw food in a trash can. You don’t have to eat all of it,” she said. “It’s not going to hurt the trash can, but it can hurt you.”

Copyright 2012 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

Conference will feature TV doctor

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 7/21/2012

Dr. Pamela Peeke is passionate about getting women to take better care of themselves.

“The grand majority of women need to understand what they put in their mouths is actually changing the expression of their own genes,” she said Thursday in a phone interview with the Daily News. “If you choose leafy greens instead of junk foods, it changes the script writing for basic genes in your body, the level of energy, your immune system, longevity. You need to start honoring what goes in the body.”

It’s one of the issues Peeke plans to discuss during The Medical Center’s 15th annual A Day Just for Women. The conference will be from 8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Sept. 13 at the Carroll Knicely Conference Center. Cost, which includes the presentations, screenings and conference materials, is $50 per person or $450 for a corporate table for 10 people. Lunch and a continental breakfast will be served. Nurses and dietitians who attend can earn continuing education units. Early registration is encouraged.

“We draw between 400 to 500 women of all ages from across the region,” said Linda Rush, director of Community Wellness. “We’ve been able to bring some nationally recognized speakers that really add to the conference.”

A Day Just for Women will include about 40 exhibits with health screenings and information as well shopping opportunities, which include makeup, jewelry and items related to health, Rush said.

“We just really want to encourage women to take time for themselves,” she said. “We try to structure times so that those who have children in school can have time. We try to give women the tools and motivation they need to have healthy lifestyles.”

In addition to Peeke, the conference will feature Grace Lichtenstein, a counseling psychologist who is a professional trainer and life coach.

Known as the “doc who walks the talk,” Peeke is assistant clinical professor of medicine at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, board certified in internal medicine and a fellow of the American College of Physicians. Among her other accomplishments, she is WebMD’s lifestyle expert, chief medical correspondent for nutrition and fitness at Discovery Health TV and author of several books, including “Fight Fat After Forty” and her latest one, “The Hunger Fix: The 3 Stage Detox and Recovery Plan for Overeating and Food Addiction,” which will be released Sept. 18. She is scheduled to appear on Katie Couric’s new talk show Sept. 19.

“Katie and I have worked together in the past on the ‘Today’ show,” she said.

In “The Hunger Fix,” Peeke writes about how bodies can be rewired from overeating and food addiction.

“I’m talking about the book itself and what it’s about. It’s brand new, exciting science,” she said.

One aspect of being healthy is medicating with movement, Peeke said.

“I’m asking women to increase their activity of daily living. It’s important that people see this as just important,” she said.

Every movement counts as long as it’s done with intensity, Peeke said.

“It has everything to do with intensity. If I can hit some cardio intensely instead of looking like a zombie on a treadmill, I will get much better bang for my buck,” she said. “Most people are time constrained, but they can give you 30 to 40 minutes.”

Sponsors of A Day Just for Women are Knicely Conference Center, Citizens First Bank and Graves-Gilbert Clinic.

— For more information, call 745-1010 or 800-624-2318.

Copyright 2012 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

Prayer room named for Britt

by Jenna Mink, The Daily News, originally published on 7/17/2012

Chaplain James Britt has comforted patients and families at The Medical Center at Bowling Green for more than three decades, and now his name is a permanent part of the organization.

The community surprised Britt on Monday by unveiling the prayer room at the Hospitality House’s new name: Chaplain James Britt Prayer Room.

“This is an honor, a blessing. I’m honored by this,” Britt said through tears, adding that he was told to drop by the Hospitality House that day to visit a patient. “I didn’t know I was visiting so many people.”

A crowd gathered to support Britt, who has visited, prayed with and comforted patients and workers for 34 years. Britt’s daughter and son-in-law, Beth and David Bradford, and a friend, Covella Biggers, donated a total of $100,000 to Hospitality House and requested that the prayer room be named for Britt.

“It’s just in honor of a giant among men – one of the greatest men I know,” David Bradford said. “It’s just ... a very appropriate place for his name to last forever.”

Britt, who was a pastor before serving as a hospital chaplain, began consoling patients in 1978 when he worked as a full-time chaplain at the former city-county hospital.

He has encountered his share of tough situations, such as the sudden deaths of children. But he has also formed many, meaningful relationships, he told the Daily News.

“I’m just proud of the work and ministry of The Medical Center,” he said. “We have a great staff, caring people, and it’s just a joy to visit and see the staff and the people who come.”

The Hospitality House opened more than a year ago as a place for families and caregivers to stay when visiting patients who are hospitalized for an extended period of time. With 12 private guest rooms, it’s a service for many out-of-town visitors – so far, it has served people from 49 counties, 32 states and four countries.

And the prayer room – now the Chaplain James Britt Prayer Room – is an important part of the organization, hospital officials say.

“When you find you have an illness in your family, there’s a spiritual need that typically needs to be met,” said Cristi Pruitt, vice president of accounting and corporate controller for Commonwealth Health Corp., the parent company of The Medical Center.

It’s “befitting,” Pruitt said, to name the room after a man who has dedicated decades to prayer for the patients and family of the hospital.

“I’ve just been doing what I’ve been called to do,” Britt said, as a long line of people waited to embrace him.

Copyright 2012 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

Better to be safe than sorry: Screenings can bring early detection of vascular disease

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 7/14/2012

Mary Newby was traveling to Las Vegas for a vacation with her siblings in 2003 when she received an unpleasant surprise.

The Bowling Green woman got as far as New Mexico before she became ill enough to seek medical care. She found out she had an aneurysm in her carotid artery that can block blood flow to the brain.

“They found it by chance,” she said.

Newby made an appointment with Dr. Michael Byrne, a vascular surgeon at The Medical Center Heart Institute in Bowling Green, and had surgery to correct her condition.

“I did very well from the surgery,” she said. “I didn’t have any complications.”

In 2005, Newby decided to have a screening to see if there were any other blockages. This time she found out she had an abdominal aortic aneurysm. Once again, she went to Byrne for surgery.

Since that surgery, Newby has felt well, but she thought it was better to be safe than sorry. She decided to get her legs screened.

“Sometimes my legs feel kind of funny, like a tingling,” she said.

She had a screening Friday at The Medical Center Health and Wellness Center at Chandler Park. A vascular technologist screens for disorders such as stroke, aortic aneurysm and lower-extremity vascular disease and sends the results to The Heart Institute so they can be evaluated by a board-certified vascular surgeon.

“Vascular screenings are easy and cost-effective tools to identify patients at risk of stroke, amputation or mortality associated with complications of vascular disease,” said Dr. Shane O’Keeffe, a vascular surgeon at The Heart Institute.

A copy of the report is also sent to the patients and their physicians. The cost is $35 per screening or $90 for all three. Members of Senior Health Network, Men’s Health Alliance and The Women’s Center can get all three for $80.

Newby said she didn’t “want any surprises.”

“I’m a preschool monitor. This is my fifth year,” she said. “I want to have everything up and running before school starts.”

Charlotte English, a vascular ultrasonographer at The Heart Institute, does the screenings and said they are important. Men make up the majority of people with vascular disease, and it tends to run in families.

“We take anyone who comes in, but our target age we’re trying to reach is 50 and up,” she said.

Some people don’t go to the doctor until they begin to have symptoms, English said. Some vascular issues don’t even have symptoms, making them even more deadly.

“Screening for (abdominal aortic aneurysm) is especially important because there are no symptoms until a rupture occurs,” she said. “We have a high rate of deaths with ruptured aneurysms.”

English asked Newby to slip off her sandals and lie on an examination table. She put gel on one side of Newby’s neck and slid an ultrasound wand over the area. Black-and-white images began to appear on the screen. The machine whirred as English checked the velocity of the blood flow to her artery. Then she repeated the process on the other side.

“What’s that black thing?” Newby asked as her head was facing the ultrasound screen.

“That’s your artery that we’re looking at,” English explained.

English did an ultrasound on Newby’s carotid artery and did an ankle brachial index, in which blood pressure is measured on the arm and neck. She put gel on the lower and side of each ankle as she examined them.

When screening results aren’t good, English doesn’t let patients leave, calls a doctor immediately and lets the doctor tell her what the patient needs to do. In Newby’s case, English let her leave with a recommendation that she check in with her doctor.

Newby was happy to find out more about her health and plans to talk to a doctor soon about her results.

“I would advise anybody to have (screenings) done,” she said.

The next screening will be from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 27. Appointments are encouraged, but walk-ins are taken if space is available. For more information, call 745-0942 or 877-800-3824.

Copyright 2012 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

Disaster response is given a boost: Mobile health care sites will be funded by grant

by Alyssa Harvey, The Daily News, originally published on 7/11/2012

The Barren River region has acquired new means of responding to disasters affecting the local and state health care system.

A $56,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has helped set up Alternative Care Sites that can be dispatched to areas across the state in times of disaster and during hospital evacuations. The grant was received by Area 4 Healthcare Emergency Area Response Team, a group of health care and community organizations that work together to plan and coordinate health disaster preparedness and response.

“With the latest grant cycle, one of the things that had been noticed in health care was the lack of means to directly provide care during a disaster,” said Jim Williams, The Medical Center at Bowling Green’s Emergency Medical Services field operations manager. “This is more for disaster-type situations.”

The need for such sites has been seen in disasters such as 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina and regionally with ice storms and tornadoes, Williams said. “It has been recognized as an issue for several years. It’s now it’s becoming a more focused priority,” he said.

The mobile trailers and equipment – which will be used among all hospitals and long-term care facilities in the region or state in times of need – are maintained by The Medical Centers at Bowling Green and Scottsville, T.J. Samson Community Hospital in Glasgow and Logan Memorial Hospital in Russellville.

“They are stationed in four counties in the region, but all the mobiles can come together in the same county. They can be hooked up to trucks and can go to wherever the problem is,” Williams said.

Rita Tabor, clinical manager at the emergency room at The Medical Center at Scottsville, agreed.

“Three of the trailers are placed in the largest counties, but the one in Allen County was placed there because of its central location,” she said, adding that the site there borders Warren, Simpson, Barren and Monroe counties.

The trailers could be used to help more people, Tabor said.

“If our building was damaged in some way and we had to move someone else or had a disaster or epidemic, we could set up the alternative site trailer at an alternate location and see patients there,” she said. “We’re setting up with all the other regions so that if they have something we need, we can call them and if we have something they need, they can call us. We live in a great state.”

The Alternate Care Site can also be used to decompress hospitals if it became necessary, Williams said.

“We could take patients who are already in the hospital and are in stable condition but still need medical care (to have alternative sites so we could) have beds for patients who need more care,” he said.

The trailers would use regular hospital staff, although off-duty staff might have to be called in at times, Tabor said. The supplies include items that staff members use regularly.

“You’d have everything you’d need to start your own little hospital at another site,” she said.

Williams said the equipment will be a big help to the region and state.

“It’s expandable with all the resources we have. We can respond to a lot of different types of issues,” he said. “It gives us a lot more options to help take care of people. We realize the importance of it.”

Copyright 2012 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)

10K Classic around the bend: Registration begins Aug. 1 for race, which features challenges for churches and businesses

by Justin Story, The Daily News, originally published on 7/7/2012

Preparations are under way for extensive community involvement in the 33rd running of The Medical Center 10K Classic.

The annual race, which will be run Oct. 13 through downtown and will start and finish on the campus of Western Kentucky University, attracts thousands of runners, volunteers and spectators.

In addition to the 10K race that headlines the event each year, this year’s classic will also feature a 5K competitive run, a 10K wheelchair race, two Children’s Classic races for runners from kindergarten through sixth grade and the 1.5-mile Fun Walk.

Last year, a total of 1,369 competitors were in the 5K and 10K races.

Registration for the race begins Aug. 1, though businesses and churches can get a jump on getting involved through corporate and church challenges.

In these challenges, businesses and churches spearhead efforts to encourage their fellow employees or church members to participate in the event, and family and friends can count toward corporate participation.

Doris Thomas, vice president of Commonwealth Health Corp., which operates The Medical Center, said the corporate and church challenges are a way to motivate people to adopt a healthier lifestyle.

“It’s never too early to start, and if you’re not on a fitness program already, this is a good, fun way to get started,” Thomas said.

Those who register through the corporate or church challenges receive a $5 discount off the registration fee, with those registrations and payments to be made online by Sept. 14.

The businesses and churches that recruit the most participants will have their names or logos added to the event’s website and on a special team T-shirt, recognition at the awards ceremony and an option to display a banner with the winning business’s or church’s logo at the finish line and at the Health and Fitness Expo that will take place Oct. 12 at Sloan Convention Center.

“The whole purpose would be for businesses to encourage their employees to become active, and this is a good initiative for businesses to get their employees and churches to get their members involved,” Thomas said.

Harman Becker Automotive Services of Franklin won last year’s corporate challenge among employers with 250 or more employees, while Nasco was the winner among employers with fewer than 250 employees.

Woodburn Baptist Church won the church challenge among churches with 250 or more members and Community Church of Christ and Plano Baptist Church shared top honors for churches with fewer than 250 members.

— For more information, visit www.themedicalcenter10kclassic.com.

Copyright 2012 News Publishing LLC (Bowling Green, KY)