Monthly Archives: February 2018

American Heart Month

Leave a reply

By Sandra Anderson, MA
Program Coordinator
Division of Diabetes, Heart Disease, Obesity and School Health

SilentKiller

High blood pressure, a major risk factor for heart disease, is called the silent killer because it often has no warning signs. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, heart disease is the leading cause of death for men and women. High blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease and stroke. As February — American Heart Month  —  draws to a close, think of the many people affected by heart disease and take the below quiz to know YOUR risk.

Click here to take the Heart Disease Quiz.Warning

Heart disease does not respect your degree(s), amount of money in your bank account or the number of followers you have on social media.  Anyone can be at risk for heart disease and it is most prevalent in the Southeast region. In 2016, heart disease was the second leading cause of death in South Carolina. Chances are, we all know someone affected by heart disease, as 10,183 South Carolinians in 2016 died from it.

Adopt a heart-healthy lifestyle

Most people don’t know that heart disease is 80 percent preventable with education and lifestyle changes. Together we can change that by adopting the following heart-healthy lifestyle tips:

  • Schedule a check-up with your doctor to talk about heart health even if you don’t think you are sick.
  • Add physical activity to your daily routine; always check with your doctor before you start.
  • Cook heart-healthy meals at home at least three times a week, and make your favorite recipes using less salt.
  • If you currently smoke, let the S.C. Tobacco Quitline Help You Quit for Keeps; it can help you cut your risk for heart disease and stroke.
  • Take medication prescribed by your doctor and know the importance of high blood pressure and cholesterol medications.

Know your numbers

 In addition to making the lifestyle changes above, knowing five numbers can help people and their doctors determine their risk for developing heart disease. The American Heart Association recommends knowing the below numbers to take control of your heart health:

  1. Total Cholesterol
  2. HDL – “Good” Cholesterol
  3. Blood Pressure
  4. Blood Sugar
  5. Body Mass Index (BMI)

To learn more about heart disease and what you can do to prevent or at least manage the disease click on this link:

http://newsroom.heart.org/events/february-is-american-heart-month-6669831.

Remembering Our Colleague Margaret Douglas

Leave a reply

Our colleague and dear friend, Ms. Margaret Douglas, director of constituent services, passed on Feb. 22 following an extended illness.Margaret

Margaret was part of the DHEC family for 47 years and will truly be missed. Those who knew her well, knew what a gentle and caring soul she was, always offering a kind word and adding light and love to the agency over the years.

Margaret began her DHEC career in 1970 working in Health Services. During her time with the agency she served in various roles, including staff assistant, secretary, stenographer, administrative specialist, and administrative coordinator.

In her most recent role as director of constituent services, she responded directly to the questions and concerns of hundreds of South Carolinians each week. In spite of health challenges, Margaret remained committed to her work, her team, the agency, and to the people of South Carolina.

Over the past weeks, many current and former DHEC staffers visited Margaret and her family in a beautiful display of love and support—proving that the bonds formed through daily work often knit us together in deep and abiding friendship.

Margaret was an extraordinary person and this is truly a great loss to our DHEC family and to our community as a whole. She will be profoundly missed.

Services were held Monday, Feb. 26 at First Calvary Baptist Church in Leesville. Please keep her family in your thoughts.

DHEC in the News: Flu, diabetes prevention, opioids

Leave a reply

Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

Aiken County still above state baseline for flu

Aiken County had a decrease in flu cases at the beginning of February, but for the week of Feb. 4 to 10, there were 632 lab-confirmed and positive rapid cases per 100,000 people, according to South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control.

There were 18,372 cases state-wide for that week, which is a decrease of 3.3 percent from the previous week, according to data provided by DHEC. There have been 99,791 cases during the entire flu season.

No excuses: RMC HealthPlex Diabetes Prevention Program changing lives for the better

As the second month of 2018 winds down, many of us are aggravated with ourselves for not sticking to our New Year’s resolutions to eat healthier, exercise and lose weight.

One group of Orangeburg residents, however, were on track to reach those goals after attending their second week of the intensive 16-week Diabetes Prevention Class at the Regional Medical Center’s HealthPlex in Orangeburg. The program kicked off on Jan. 23.

General Interest

ER Reduces Opioid Use By More Than Half With Dry Needles, Laughing Gas

One of the places many people are first prescribed opioids is a hospital emergency room. But in one of the busiest ERs in the U.S., doctors are relying less than they used to on oxycodone, Percocet, Vicodin and other opioids to ease patients’ pain.

In an unusual program designed to help stem the opioid epidemic, the emergency department at St. Joseph’s University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., has been exploring alternative painkillers and methods. That strategy has led to a 58 percent drop in the ER’s opioid prescriptions in the program’s first year, according to numbers provided by St. Joseph’s Healthcare System’s chair of emergency medicine, Dr. Mark Rosenberg.

DHEC in the News: HPV, flu, critical need for more emergency medical professionals

Leave a reply

Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

This virus causes 31,500 cancers annually but few complete the vaccine to prevent it

Vaccination rates against HPV remain low in South Carolina, according to the national Blue Cross Blue Shield association, despite a wide acceptance by doctors as a key in preventing cervical and other types of cancer.

Gardasil had been administered in three doses until 2016, when the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommended two doses of the same vaccine for adolescents. The Blue Cross study examined the percentage of children who got the first dose by the time they were 10 and the percentage who had gotten the final dose three years later.

Urgent care chain expanding as flu cases spike

As flu cases and related deaths continue to increase in South Carolina ahead of the peak flu season, urgent care facilities like American Family Care are rapidly expanding and opening more clinics in the Upstate.

American Family Care opened its newest location on Friday in Boiling Springs to help meet the surge in patients dealing with the flu or flu-like symptoms.

Fire chief: Critical need for medic professionals in York Co.

YORK COUNTY, S.C. — A local fire chief is speaking out about the lack of medical resources in the area.

City of York Fire Chief Domenic Manera tells NBC Charlotte his firefighters are also licensed EMTs, because the closest hospital is more than 20 minutes away. …

Chief Manera says there is a critical need for medic professionals in the western York County.

DHEC in the News: Flu

Leave a reply

Here’s a look at health and environmental news from around South Carolina.

Flu claims 22 more lives in SC, but there is some good news on the flu front

The flu remains widespread in South Carolina, but for the second straight week the number of confirmed cases fell statewide.

Health Officials: 22 more die from flu in South Carolina

State health officials say 22 more people have died from flu in South Carolina in the past week.

The Department of Health and Environmental Control said Wednesday that the latest report shows that 128 people have died from the flu in South Carolina since the season started in October.

Upstate hospitals combat IV bag shortage amid flu season

In the midst of what health officials say is shaping up to be the worst flu season in nearly a decade, three of the region’s largest hospital systems are struggling to provide intravenous (IV) bags for incoming patients.

The bags, which are used to administer fluids and medications, have been in short supply since Hurricane Maria’s devastation of Puerto Rico in September, according to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The storm not only knocked out the island’s electrical grid but also damaged a number of manufacturing facilities responsible for the production of IV bags.

Two more die of the flu in Beaufort County. Here’s what we know.

Two more flu-related deaths were reported in Beaufort and Jasper counties the week of Feb. 5, according to local healthcare officials.

One person died at Beaufort Memorial Hospital and another at Coastal Carolina Hospital. The hospitals did not disclose the age or gender of the victims.