Oak Ridge Today

Sen. Alexander has surgery on left leg

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Lamar Alexander
Lamar Alexander

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander, a Tennessee Republican, had surgery on his left leg at Vanderbilt University Medical Center on Wednesday morning, his office said in a statement.

Surgeon Herbert S. Schwartz at the Vanderbilt Department of Orthopaedic Surgery said he successfully removed an atypical lipoma from Alexander’s left leg.

“The surgery went as planned, and I will consult with my team and Senator Alexander to determine whether additional treatment is necessary,” Schwartz said in the statement, which was provided by David Cleary, Alexander’s chief of staff.

[Read more…]

Benefits of bariatric surgery to be discussed Tuesday

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Mark Colquitt

Mark Colquitt

For many patients, making the decision to undergo a bariatric procedure is a process. Some are driven by health concerns, while others are seeking changes that will enhance their life experiences—playing with their children, traveling comfortably, or enjoying the great outdoors. Patients must weigh the benefits of the surgery with the lifetime changes they will need to make in order to be successful.

Learn about “The Benefits of Bariatric Surgery” as Methodist Medical Center, Fort Sanders Center for Bariatric Surgery, and bariatric surgeon Mark Colquitt, MD, partner to present this month’s Health Night on the Town. The presentation will take place Tuesday, April 28, at 7 p.m. in the Ridge Conference Room of Methodist Medical Center at 990 Oak Ridge Turnpike.

Bariatric surgery is an operation on the stomach and/or intestines that helps patients with extreme obesity to lose weight, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases in Bethesda, Maryland.

Health Night on the Town is a medical lecture series presented by physicians and other health professionals. Programs are held in the hospital’s Ridge Conference Room at 7 p.m. on the last Tuesday of every month except June, July, November, and December. Health Night is free and open to the public. For more information, call (865) 835-4662.

Wanda Crowe named hospital’s MMCer of the Year

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Wanda Crowe

Wanda Crowe

Wanda Crowe, anesthesia tech in the Surgery department at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, has been named the 2014 MMCer of the Year.

Hospital employees cast their votes for MMCer of the Year among the candidates who received MMCer of the Month during 2014, and Crowe, who was named MMCer of the Month in October, received the greatest number of votes to earn this special distinction.

As an anesthesia tech, Crowe’s duties include transporting patients for surgery, maintaining a clean environment for the operating rooms and assisting her coworkers with a variety of tasks to ensure a high quality of care for all patients. Crowe has been with Methodist since 1995. [Read more…]

Covenant Health’s heart surgery program receives highest ratings

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Methodist Medical Center Entrance at Night

The main entrance to Methodist Medical Center, a Covenant Health hospital in Oak Ridge, is pictured above at night. (Photo courtesy Covenant Health)

 

Covenant Health’s cardiac program has received the highest quality designation from The Society of Thoracic Surgeons, an organization dedicated to ensuring the best possible outcomes for surgeries of the heart, lung, and esophagus, a press release said. The society represents nearly 7,000 surgeons, researchers, and allied health care professionals worldwide.

Based on data submitted from Covenant Health’s elite heart hospitals—Parkwest, Fort Sanders Regional, and Methodist medical centers—Covenant’s cardiac program received a three-star quality ranking in the STS Adult Cardiac Surgery Database, regarded as the world’s premier clinical registry for adult cardiac surgery, the press release said. About 95 percent of U.S. programs that perform adult cardiac surgery participate in the database, but only about 10-15 percent of participants receive the three-star designation.

The cardiac team was recognized for quality outcomes for coronary artery bypass graft, or CABG, a surgical procedure to create new paths around narrowed and blocked arteries to allow blood flow to the heart. The quality designations are based on data measures for U.S. hospitals in several areas related to CABG surgery, including survival and complication rates, use of surgical techniques shown to deliver better outcomes, and appropriate use of perioperative medications. Covenant’s cardiac surgery team performed above national averages in overall composite scores for the study. [Read more…]

ACSD sued over erroneous arrest

Posted at
By 1 Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

A lawsuit filed last week in Anderson County Circuit Court alleges that a man was injured during what turned out to be his wrongful arrest in September of last year.

The lawsuit was filed last week against the Anderson County sheriff and four deputies by Carlen Reeves. Reeves was a passenger in a car that was pulled over by deputies in September on Highway 61.

The lawsuit states that when the driver pulled over, four deputies approached the vehicle with their guns drawn and ordered the driver and Reeves out of the car with their hands up and ordered them to walk backward toward the sounds of the deputies’ voices. Reeves was ordered to the ground with his hands still in the air, and the lawsuit says that when his knees hit the pavement, he heard a loud pop and then felt sharp pain in his left knee. [Read more…]

Honors: Becky Cox named April’s MMCer of the Month

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Becky Cox

Becky Cox

Becky Cox, a registered nurse in the Post Anesthesia Recovery Unit, or PACU, at Methodist Medical Center of Oak Ridge, has been named the MMCer of the Month for April.

In her duties, Cox prepares patients for surgery as well as cares for their needs in the recovery room. She joined Methodist as a student nurse in 1979 and has been employed as an RN since 1981. Prior to working in the PACU, Cox worked in the Acute Care Unit and was one of the first two RNs to open Methodist’s Cath Lab in 1988.

Cox is described by Deborah Lively, nurse manager in the PACU at Methodist, as “dependable, committed, and someone who provides excellent care to each and every patient and family she comes in contact with.”

Lively continues by saying, “She is a team player and works well with all of her co-workers, surrounding departments, and physicians.” [Read more…]

Roane rallies around injured student-athlete

Posted at
By Leave a Comment

Information from WYSH Radio

Classmates of a Kingston High School sophomore football player who broke his neck on the first play of last week’s game against Sequoyah showed their support and rallied the community’s support for him on Tuesday.

Seth Haynes shattered the third vertebrae in his neck in the game and underwent surgery at the University of Tennessee Medical Center over the weekend. He could be released from the hospital as early as today and has expressed interest in attending the Yellow Jackets game this Friday night. [Read more…]