Mountains Community Hospital News

Ted Roy, at age 87, who was a long time resident of Lake Arrowhead since 1954, passed away quietly on April 19, 2011 at his home in Rancho Mirage. Ted was born on September 6, 1923 in North Bay, Ontario, Canada to Victor & Ida Roy, the middle son of ten children. During World War II, he served in the Royal Canadian Air Force. His love of golf led him to become the first member at the Lake Arrowhead Country Club. He was actively involved in helping to improve the mountain community, from helping to raise funds to purchase the Mountains Community Hospital and serving as Chairman of its first Board to starting the Mile High Charity Golf Classic for mountain charities.

He was preceded in death by his wife Kathleen. he is survived by his sons Richard and Robert, daughters Donna Suehiro and Jo McCulloch, companion Sylvia Amick, five grandchildren and 6 great grandchildren.

Since its inception the Ted Roy Charity Foundation has one of the biggest financial donors to Mountains Community Hospital.

Mr. Yeager passed away on September 6th 2010. Gene’s wife Billie is the Chair of the MCH Foundation. Gene and Billie are long time supporters of the hospital and many other mountain community charities. He has been a friend to so many and will be missed.

Your eye sockets hurt. Your head feels like it’s filled with so much fluid that you could use it for a bowling ball at the nearest bowling alley. Your nose could be running, you may have really bad breath and you’re tired. From your symptoms with fluid it’s entirely possible you have a sinus infection. The question is: do you race to the doctor for antibiotics or try to clear it up by yourself by using alternative or over-the-counter remedies.

Science has discovered that most sinus infections are caused by viruses and viruses don’t respond to antibiotics. However, occasionally, sinus infections are bacterial and those can respond to a series of antibiotics. The question is, how do you tell?

Acute viral sinusitis is viral and it generally lasts less than a month and occurs less than three times a year. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, this type of sinusitis can follow an upper respiratory infection. However, chronic sinusitis generally lasts more than a month and occurs more than four times a year. This type of sinusitis may be caused by allergies, tumors or respiratory tract infections but it can also be caused by pollutants, fungal infections, problems in the nasal cavity and/or a weak immune system.

Patients suffering with congestion can often receive relief by gently but firmly pressing along the bone beneath each eye, traveling slowly from the bridge of the nose out to the edge of the eye. By pressing gently, but firmly, it can help break up the congestion.

Another ancient congestion relief remedy is a neti pot. These small pots have been used for centuries in many cultures to clear excess mucus from nasal cavities. Use of a Neti pot may take some getting used to but it can be an important tool in helping keep nasal passages clear by irrigating them with a saline solution. Many over-the-counter spray saline irrigation solutions are also available that may prove beneficial.

Most people don’t give the old nose much notice until they have a cold, their nose is dripping or until they have a sinus problem. However, with a certain amount of daily preventative measures it’s possible to get along a lot better with that important feature located in the center of your face.

The nose is basically an air filter, much like the one on an automobile. Every waking minute of a day the nose serves to condition inhaled air that is filled with pollutants and other harmful, invisible organisms. We never even think about it… Perhaps we should.

For more information on sinus problems talk to your Mountains Community Hospital physician by calling (909) 336-3651. Remember, We’re Here to Help!

Do you toss and turn at night and then feel that you’re as tired in the morning as you were when you went to bed? Do you snore loudly? Are you rested or do you struggle all day to stay awake? Do you wake up with a headache, a dry mouth or a sore throat?

If so, you may have a condition called sleep apnea which is serious and is life-threatening in many cases.

“Apnea” is a Greek word that means “without breath” and human beings aren’t meant to be without breath very long, not without serious consequences. People with any type of apnea stop breathing repeatedly during the night and it can sometimes last for a minute or more.

Snoring doesn’t necessarily indicate someone has sleep apnea but if their snoring keeps other people awake it’s possible that’s the culprit. According to the American Sleep Apnea Association the most common form of apnea is called “obstructive.” This type is caused by a blockage of the airway, ordinarily when soft tissue in the throat closes during sleep. Central sleep apnea occurs because the brain fails to tell the muscles to breath. The third type of apnea is called “mixed apnea” and it is a combination of the two.

One of the difficulties of diagnosing this condition is that its symptoms can be caused by many different things and can mask, or mimic, other medical conditions. People who suspect they may have sleep apnea need to be tested and that involves spending a night in a sleep laboratory where breathing is constantly monitored. If the patient is diagnosed with sleep apnea wearing a cumbersome, but helpful head/nose device called a CPAP may be in order. Although it takes getting used to wearing a CPAP is worth the effort, especially if someone has a severe case of apnea.

However, due to the cumbersome and somewhat uncomfortable nature of wearing a CPAP new devices and ways to help apnea patients are being developed. New pillows are being designed that help enable CPAP users to sleep on their sides rather than flat on their back. The biggest change for apnea patients may be the help they may obtain by being fitted for a dental appliance that will help keep their airway open and will alleviate the use of the cumbersome CPAP. Patients should discuss the various available options with their Mountains Community Hospital physician. Breakthroughs are being made in products that will help apnea patients continue using the device they’re supposed to use to help alleviate the problem.

Remember, Mountains Community Hospital and its physicians are just a phone call, and a short drive, away. For information call (909) 336-3651.

EsophyX is now available at Mountains Community Hospital. Dr. Renetta Hatcher is the first specialist in the area trained and performing the EsophyX procedure. EsophyX can significantly improve quality of life for our patients, said Dr. Hatcher. Many reflux patients are unable to drink carbonated or caffeinated beverages or eat rich foods or fruit without triggering reflux. They also sleep sitting up to reduce nighttime reflux. After the EsophyX procedure, clinical trials show that most patients can eat and drink foods they avoided for many years. Reflux no longer impacts their life like it previously did.

EsophyX is the first device for incisionless reconstructive surgical treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD) and is based on the principals of surgical repair of the gastroesophageal junction.

In coming weeks, Dr. Hatcher will host an informational seminar outlining the details of the procedure. The event will take place in the MCH conference room and the time and date will be announced shortly. The conference room is located on the second floor of the professional building adjacent to MCH.

EsophyX represents the third generation of surgery. The transition from open surgery to laparoscopy has been regarded as the major advance in surgery in the last two decades. Laparoscopy reduced the skin incisions typical of open surgery to only three to five port holes. However, laparoscopy still involves the same internal incisions and organ dissection as open surgery. EsophyX, however, is a giant advancement, avoiding incisions and dissection altogether. Because of this reduced invasiveness, EsophyX lowers the hurdle for receiving an anatomical restoration of the antireflux barrier and allows earlier intervention.

For the millions of Americans diagnosed with GERD and not fully satisfied with their treatment options, EsophyX offers an excellent alternative. Recent studies of EsophyX have shown that the procedure can reduce patients dependency on medications, with 70% of patients remaining symptom free after two years and experiencing a dramatic improvement in their quality of life, said Dr. Hatcher. We are very excited to be able to offer our patients the same incredible benefits with minimal risk, she added.

Dr. Hatcher, a board-certified surgeon, relocated her practice nearly two years ago from the greater Orange County and Los Angeles areas, to Lake Arrowhead. She received her undergraduate BS degree from Cal Poly Pomona, her medical degree from Howard University in Washington D.C. and completed her surgery training with heavy trauma exposure at Harbor/King Drew Medical Center in Los Angeles. She also received an MBA from the University of Phoenix. Dr. Hatcher currently serves as Vice Chief of Staff at Mountains Community Hospital. She has received numerous awards for her work in surgery and has been listed in the 2007, 2008, and 2009 Guide to America’s Top Surgeons by the Consumer’s Research Council of America.

About EsophyX

Widely recognized as the next step in the evolution of minimally invasive techniques, the EsophyX device is introduced into the body, not through an incision, but through a natural body orifice, the mouth. The EsophyX device and the TIF procedure reduce hiatal hernia and create a valve between the stomach and the esophagus to restore the natural, physiological anatomy to reduce/prevent gastroesophageal reflux. Because the procedure is incisionless, there is no visible scar and the risk of adverse effects are reduced.

For more information or to sign up for the seminar, contact: Mountains Community Hospital at 436-3210 or visit www.MCHCares.com. To contact Dr. Hatcher, please call 337-2100.