Marshfield Clinic Patient Listening

Dr. Melissa Stoffel of Marshfield Clinic's Weston Center provides valuable insight on preconception counseling, the practice of getting a woman as healthy as they can be prior to getting pregnant, and describes what women should expect during and post pregnancy.

In part two of the podcast series "Staying Healthy in Tough Economic Times" Marshfield Clinic dietician and nurse practitioner Trina Ford examines the many ways you can save money at the grocery store and maintain or even improve your health.

Marshfield Clinic recognized that as the economy softened so would the usage of medical services. But at what costs? Short term gains by cutting doctor visits can adversely affect their long term health goals. This is one of the reasons that a group of physicians, dieticians and staff of business counselors designed a presentation called “Staying healthy in tough economic times.” In this first in a series of podcasts addressing patients' difficulty balancing budgets and health care Dr. Tom Gabert offers advice on how to maximize your time with your physician, how utilizing generic drugs for prescriptions can add up, and how to avoid some common traps often presented by marketers of prescription drugs and nutritional supplements.

Marshfield Clinic dermatologist, Dr. John Melski, answers questions about a spring time skin condition that is commonly refered to as sun poisoning or sun allergy. The real cause, polymorphous light eruption, is somewhat rare and very treatable, but can cause alarm for patients experiencing it for the first time.

The recent swine flu outbreak and it's declaration as a public health emergency has set the health care industry into full motion. Dr. Ed Belongia, M.D. senior epidemiologist/director at the Epidemiolgy Research Center at Marshfield Clinic Research Foundation, discusses what the current investigation approach is, what the State of Wisconsin and Marshfield Clinic are preparing for and how you as an individual can prevent the spread of the virus to family, friends, and co-workers.

Allergist, Dr. Marshall Cusic, Jr. discusses allergy injections or allergy immunotherapy, as a method to treating allergies. Seasonal allergies can range from a minor nuisance to a dangerous asthmatic event. One thing is for certain, that the pollens that cause these reactions will begin to appear in our area very soon.

Weighs" to help your kids; is a presentation about strategies families can take to help fight the increasing population of children that are considered obese or borderline obese. During the program you will learn the difference between obesity and overweight and how the two terms are sometimes used interchangeably. Jay Halminiak recommends exercise and activity levels for kids to help build lean muscle and strong bones. He also suggests numerous strategies you and your kids can take to become more active. Jamie Meyer follows Jay with a discussion about proper nutritional needs for young growing children. She provides an in depth look at the new food pyramid, which has changed dramatically over the last few years. She will also give you concrete examples on why making healthy food choices at meal times and snack times has a tremendous impact on fighting childhood obesity.

Brother and sister, Doug and Rhonda, discuss their weight loss experience one year after their Roux-en-Y gastric bypass surgeries. During this candid patient testimonial Doug and Rhonda talk about post operative pain, dietary restrictions as a result of gastric bypass surgery, the resulting increase of energy due to their weight loss, and dumping syndrome, a common manageable side effect of gastric bypass surgery.

Rare but serious complications can occur in patients dealing with the common bacterial infection known as strep throat. Marshfield Clinic pediatrician Vicki Viegut talks about the symptoms, diagnosis, treatment, contagiousness and complications that can arise in patients with step throat.

Marshfield Clinic Infection Preventionist, Sharyn Juneau and Dr. Rana Nasser, Physician Director for infection prevention and control, discuss pertussis or as it is more commonly referred to, whooping cough. The discussion talks about when you should see a doctor and what course of treatment the doctor may choose. Whether you suspect you or someone you know has contracted the disease or has come in contact with someone who has the disease and how to prevent the spread, within your household, family, work environment and schools.

Marshfield Clinic Audiology now offers hearing aids that are compatible with Bluetooth® technology. By using Bluetooth® enabled hearing aids, people who are affected by hearing loss can enjoy many of the latest audio devices like iPods, and cell phones that many of us already take for granted. Christine Albertus, Au.D, CC-A from Marshfield Clinic Minocqua Center specializes in the development, anatomic physiology and pathology of the auditory system; determiniation of the type and degree of hearing impairment and its effects on comprehension and speech; and implementation of preventative or rehabilitstive services. Christine explains the differences between analog, digital and Bluetooth® enable hearing devices that use directlink technology to manage multiple listening devices.

Healthy Solutions by HMR is offered at Marshfield Clinic and can help you lose 20 to 30 pounds in just 12 weeks. In a addition the weight loss program offers an extensive weight maintenance program that stays with a person to either assist them in losins a few more pounds or keep them at their ideal weight. The participants in this weight loss program are to eat 5 cups of fruits and vegetables a day along with two of the healthy solutions shakes and three prepared meals. If that isn't enough HMR's slogan of more is better helps people stay on track.

Short term weight loss programs are effective but often allow a person to go back to their old habits after the diet ends. This causes them to put it all that weight, and more, back on. A medically managed weight loss program offered at Marshfield Clinic can help you lose significant amounts of weight. In a addition the weight loss program offers an extensive weight maintenance program that stays with a person to keep them at their ideal weight.

There's no question that obesity in America is a problem. Scan the bookstores, newspapers and TV and radio stations and you're sure to find mention of the problem almost as frequently as you'll find a proposed solution. For many who are affected by this chronic illness simply dieting to get to a healthy weight doesn't work. Bariatric surgery is a tool that can assist a patient in getting to a healthy weight. The results speak for themselves.

WINGS is the chosen accronym for a new cancer survivorship program at Marshfield Clinic. Mindy Gribble, R.N. defines the program as We Inspire, Nurture, and Give Support. It is designed to help people who have been diagnosed with cancer and their support network deal with all aspects of their care from diagnosis through the remainder of their life. Mindy's task as the cancer survivorship coordinator is to build the cancer survivor network throughout the Marshfield Clinic service area. During this episode she provides details about the foundations for the program, what it has meant to those involved, and where she anticipates the program in the future.