Grundy County Memorial Hospital | Live Well | Fall 2018

FAL L 2018 Inside 3 Healthy Lifestyle Program details 5 New guidelines for colorectal cancer screening from getting worse and causing long- term harm. Ready for any emergency At Grundy County Memorial Hospital (GCMH), the specially trained Emer- gency Department staff is dedicated to treating patients as if they are family. Patient reviews have placed the GCMH Emergency Department among the top emergency departments in the nation for patient satisfaction for eight consecutive years, demonstrat- ing how a rural hospital meets and exceeds the expectations of those in its care. In an emergency—GCMH is here for you ●   ● Difficulty breathing or shortness of breath. ●   ● Chest pain or pressure. ●   ● Fainting; unconsciousness. ●   ● Upper abdominal pain or pressure. ●   ● Sudden or excessive pain. ●   ● Uncontrolled bleeding or coughing up blood. ●   ● Changes in vision. ●   ● Seizures. ●   ● Confusion. ●   ● Sudden onset of numbness. In addition, if a child is badly in- jured or becomes seriously ill without warning, it is a medical emergency. Timely treatment can prevent an illness Six-year-old Mae Meyer experienced severe side effects of the influenza virus last winter and received emergency care from Grundy County Memorial Hospital Emergency Department staff, including Allison Schoolman, ARNP. Hear Mae’s story at grundycountyhospital.org . In an emergency, the professionals in the Grundy County Memorial Hospital Emergency Department work together to evaluate, stabilize, and treat people with a wide variety of medical and trauma conditions. Hospital emergency departments can be considered the “safety net” of health care, since they are staffed 24/7/365 by professionals who are specially trained in emergency care. Emergency vs. urgent It’s helpful to understand the differ- ences between emergency depart- ments and urgent care clinics, which are increasingly present in larger com- munities and provide after-hours care for illness and injury. Urgent care clin- ics can be a good choice for ailments that you might otherwise visit your family doctor for during office hours. According to the National Institutes of Health, urgent care is appropriate for minor illnesses and injuries, such as colds, fever, flu, earaches, sprains and strains, and rashes. Urgent care is not emergency care— it shouldn’t be used for life-threatening problems. If you think you or someone else has an emergency, call 911 or go to the closest hospital emergency department. The American College of Emergency Physicians offers a list of warning signs that indicate a medical emergency: