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Monthly Matters:
- GreenField
Welcomes Malcolm McAninch, MD
- GreenField Bids
Farewell to Eric Murray, MD
- GreenField
Welcomes Kim Walgraeve - Marketing Manager
- Hynosis: An
altered state of consciousness
- Family
Matters: Dental Health in Children and Adolescents
-
Transformation: When to Weigh
- Office Notes
GreenField Health’s Health Matters
August 2008
GreenField
Welcomes Malcolm McAninch, MD
We are
delighted to introduce GreenField’s newest physician, Dr. Malcolm
McAninch, who will be joining us in October.
Dr. McAninch
is a well known and highly respected internist who has practiced in
the Portland community for over 20 years. Mal comes to us from
Legacy Health System where he served as a practicing physician and
medical director. Mal has been a friend of GreenField Health’s since
our inception, and he was quite involved in our early discussions
about GreenField eight years ago. Mal and his wife Janeen are very
active Portland citizens. Their whole family is very involved with
Medical Teams International (formerly Northwest Medical Teams),
including making several mission trips to underserved parts of the
world.
We
couldn’t be more delighted that he has chosen to join our practice
and we’re confident you will like him as much as we do. We’ve
scheduled three open houses at our Barnes Road office
for anyone who would like to meet him to enjoy a cup of coffee or a
glass of wine. They are as follows:
Friday,
September 19 from 11:30 am – 1:30 pm
Tuesday,
September 23 from 7:30 am – 9:30 am
Thursday,
September 25 from 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm
Please join
us in welcoming Mal to the practice.
GreenField
Bids Farewell to Eric Murray, MD
At the end of
this month, Dr. Eric Murray will be leaving GreenField to pursue a
new practice opportunity in St. Helens, OR. Eric has been part of
GreenField since the early days. He contributed a great deal to our
practice development, and our IT systems. We know that he cared
deeply for his patients; his dedicated work has been appreciated and
will be missed. We wish him all the best in his new endeavor.
GreenField
Welcomes Kim Walgraeve – Marketing Manager
We are delighted to welcome Kim
Walgraeve to the family at GreenField. Kim steps into the new role
of Marketing Manager for GreenField, and will be working with us to
improve our outreach to the community, and to help grow our
practices.
She comes to us
with more than 10 years of marketing experience in healthcare and
has hit the ground running. In her spare time, she enjoys her
family, including her two young children and her husband. Her
hobbies include reading, gardening, cooking and being in the
outdoors.
Hypnosis: An altered state of
consciousness
Have you ever
been so totally absorbed in a book, writing, or watching a movie
that you didn't notice what was going on around you? If so, you have
experienced a trancelike state of focused attention that's similar
to what you experience during hypnosis.
In our
June/July ’08 Health Matters, we discussed biofeedback and its
medical applications. In this issue, we’ll explore the mind-body
connection of hypnosis. Both biofeedback and hypnosis take advantage
of the mind-body connection and like biofeedback, it is not fully
clear how hypnosis works. It appears to affect how your brain
communicates with your body through nerve impulses, hormones and
neurochemicals.
Hypnosis is an
intentionally induced state of altered consciousness that creates a
state of deep relaxation and quiets the mind. Individuals under
hypnosis are more focused and more responsive to suggestion. When
you're hypnotized, you can concentrate intensely on a specific
thought, memory, feeling or sensation while blocking out
distractions.
The purpose of
hypnosis as a therapeutic technique is to help you gain more control
over behavior, emotions and physical well-being.
Who is
hypnosis for?
Hypnosis may
have the potential to help with a wide variety of conditions, but
it's not a magic bullet. It's typically used as a part of an overall
treatment plan rather than as a stand-alone therapy. Like any other
therapy, it can be very helpful to some people and fail with others
‑ it works best in those who are highly motivated and who work with
a well trained therapist.
Hypnosis can
be used to:
-
Treat pain during childbirth and reduce labor
time
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Relieve abdominal cramping and other symptoms
associated with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS)
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Reduce blood pressure
-
Manage chemotherapy-associated nausea and
vomiting
-
Reduce the intensity or frequency of migraine
headaches
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Treat asthma
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Improve psoriasis, eczema and other skin
conditions
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Change negative behaviors, such as smoking,
bedwetting and overeating
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Manage fear, stress and anxiety
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Eliminate or decrease the intensity of various
phobias
Types of
hypnosis
A variety of
hypnotic techniques exists. The approach you choose depends on what
you want to accomplish and your personal preferences. Your
hypnotherapist may make a recommendation regarding the best
technique for your particular situation.
For example,
in one method, a hypnotherapist leads you into hypnosis by talking
in gentle, soothing tones and describing images that create a sense
of relaxation, security and well-being. While you're under hypnosis,
the hypnotherapist suggests ways for you to achieve specific goals —
for example, reducing pain or stress or helping to eliminate the
cravings associated with smoking cessation.
In another
technique, once you're under hypnosis the hypnotherapist helps
stimulate your imagination by suggesting specific mental images to
see in your mind's eye. This conscious creation of vivid, meaningful
pictures in your mind is called mental imagery, and it's a powerful
way to achieve desired effects. For example, hypnotherapists can
help athletes specifically visualize what they want to accomplish
before they perform it physically.
Self-hypnosis
is a third technique. A certified hypnotherapist needs to teach you
how to induce a state of hypnosis in yourself. You then can use this
skill to help yourself.Although hypnotherapists, like other health
care practitioners, each have their own style, expect some common
elements:
-
A typical session lasts from 30 to 60 minutes.
-
The number of sessions can range from one to a
series of several.
-
You generally bring yourself out of hypnosis at
the end of a session.
-
You can usually resume your daily activities
immediately after a session.
Dispelling
some myths about hypnosis
Everyone has
heard of hypnosis being used for entertainment as people are placed
into a trance state as a part of a stage act. This has led to many
myths about hypnosis. Legitimate hypnotherapy is not the same as
that performed on stage.
A common myth
is that you surrender your free will when you are under hypnosis.
The reality is that hypnosis is a heightened state of concentration
and focused attention in which you do not lose your personality,
free will or strength. A small number of people can go into a very
deep hypnotic state experience spontaneous amnesia. However, most
people remember everything that occurs under hypnosis.
Another myth
is that the hypnotherapist controls you. The reality is that you do
hypnosis voluntarily for yourself and a hypnotherapist only serves
as a knowledgeable guide or facilitator. You cannot be put under
hypnosis without your own participation. Successful hypnosis depends
on your willingness to experience it, and even with voluntary
participation, not everyone can be led into a hypnotic state.
How to
choose a qualified professional
Hypnosis as a
practice is not regulated in most states. Certified lay hypnotists
are individuals who have completed 200 or more hours of training in
hypnosis but don't have additional professional health care
training. Licensed health care professionals who practice
hypnotherapy, such as psychologists, doctors and social workers, are
trained in hypnosis in addition to their university training.
Apply the same
care in choosing a hypnotherapist as you would a doctor. Ask someone
you trust for recommendations. When you find a potential
hypnotherapist, ask questions such as:
-
Do you have training in a field such as
psychology, medicine, social work or dentistry?
-
Are you licensed in your specialty in this state?
-
Where did you go to school, and where did you
receive other training?
-
If you're a lay hypnotist, how much training have
you had and from which school?
-
How long have you been in practice?
When conducted
under the care of a trained therapist, hypnosis is generally safe as
a complementary treatment method.
Family Matters:
Dental
Health in Children and Adolescents
We have not
had many articles on dental health in the past, but it is a growing
concern for health care providers who care for children and
adolescents. Dental “caries” is a common childhood disease which
damages the teeth. The Centers for Disease Control, American Academy
of Pediatrics, and American Academy of Family Physicians all have
policy statements and guidelines on comprehensive prevention and
treatment programs for oral health. Much of the concern is focused
on the most common condition that affects the teeth--dental
caries--and much of the media attention and debate surrounds the
most common preventive measure, fluoride exposure.
As many as 19%
of children aged 2 to 5 years and 52% of children aged 5 to 9 years
have experienced dental caries. Minority and economically
disadvantaged children have a higher prevalence and severity of
caries compared with other groups. Tooth decay or cavities are
consequences of caries. If left untreated, the disease can lead to
pain, infection and tooth loss. Untreated caries in primary teeth
may also lead to caries in permanent teeth.
Tooth decay is
caused by certain types of acid-producing bacteria which cause
damage in the presence of fermentable sugars such as sucrose,
fructose and glucose. The resulting high levels of acidity in the
mouth affect teeth because a tooth's special mineral content causes
it to be sensitive to acidity.
Once caries
are present, treatment options include increased preventive measures
(oral hygiene, fluoride), restoration with amalgams (“fillings”),
root canal, and extraction or removal of the tooth. Most of our
attention is focused however on prevention of caries as several
methods have been found to be effective.
Most dental
health organizations as well as the American Academy of Pediatrics
and the American Academy of Family Physicians advocate that children
establish care with a dentist after 12 months of age. Emphasis is
placed on good oral hygiene techniques such as regular brushing and
flossing as well as recommending dietary modifications which may
help prevent caries. As above, sugars in the mouth are one of the
components which contribute to caries, so lowering the intake of
sugary drinks and foods can help. It has also been found that milk
and certain kinds of cheese (like cheddar) can help counter tooth
decay if consumed soon after the consumption of foods that are
harmful to teeth. Also, chewing gum containing xylitol
(wood sugar) is widely used to protect teeth in some countries.
Oral fluoride
supplementation is recommended for infants starting at age 6 months
as well as older children and adolescents who live in areas that
don’t have fluoridated water or those that primarily drink bottled
water or well water. Clinical trials that assess the effectiveness
of oral fluoride supplementation started before the age of 5 in
preventing dental caries have consistently found that fluoride
supplementation prevents 32% to 81% of caries lesions in primary
teeth or tooth surfaces. Many communities in the US have water
fluorination programs. This daily exposure to small amounts of
fluoride topically to the teeth is felt to be the primary factor
which helps strengthen the enamel and prevent caries. Depending on
the concentration of fluoride in your public water system, your
child may or may not need additional supplementation. You can find
the dosages recommended by the CDC here:
http://www.cdc.gov/FLUORIDATION/other/spplmnt_schdl.htm
Transformation: When to Weigh?
The
Transformation program at GreenField Health is a lifestyle and
weight management program. There have been scores of participants
over the three years of its existence and their experience has led
to the development of “The Seventeen Habits of Successful
Weight-Appropriate People.” Each month in Health Matters, we have
been sharing one of these habits with you and discussing its
benefits.
This month’s
topic is the importance of assessing your weight at regular
intervals but not necessarily daily. People who attain and maintain
a healthy body weight regularly assess where they are in regard to
their weight. Some people can do this successfully by paying
attention to how their clothes fit and adjusting their food intake
or exercise expenditures accordingly (rather than adjusting their
clothes size up and up).
Many of us use
a scale to follow our weight. Weighing every day can be frustrating
since many of us fluctuate a surprising amount from day to day. It
is important not to over-react to the number on the scale. Some
people use a slightly lower than usual reading as a license to go
overboard with eating; others can get frustrated with a higher than
expected reading and then go overboard with eating because of the
frustration.
Weighing weekly or several times per week, at
the same time of day, can give helpful information to aid in your
journey to a healthier you. But it is just a number, which is best
used in conjunction with your girth measurements and body fat
assessment to get an overall assessment of your fitness.
Office Notes
-
Labor Day Holiday
– We will be observing Labor Day, and the office will be closed
on Monday, September 1. As always, a GreenField physician is
available to you for urgent or emergent needs by calling our
main number (503) 292-9560.
-
Past Due Balances
- We realize that with healthcare costs rising and benefits
decreasing, many of our patients have a greater financial
responsibility for their healthcare costs than ever before. In
the past, we’ve been lenient with regard to collecting past due
balances. We value our relationship with you, our patients, and
would appreciate a phone call if you are having financial
difficulties and would like to arrange a payment schedule.
Please
call Cindy King at 503-384-2029 to set this up.
-
Automatic Payments
- For anyone who has automatic monthly or quarterly payments via
debit or credit card, please let us know when you get a new card
that has a new expiration date on it. This is important in order
for your payment to go through appropriately and not be declined
by your bank. We do send you an annual renewal packet to make
sure we have the most updated information for you, and if we
don’t hear from you we will assume you wish to continue your
care with us.
-
GreenField Goes Green
With Statements - to reduce our paper usage, we will be
sending all of our patient statements out electronically
beginning this fall via our secure messaging system. We will
use the email account we have on file for you. If you do not
wish to receive them electronically, please let us know and we
will make arrangements to mail you a paper copy. Each
e-statement will include a link to GreenField’s portal that can
be used to pay your bill online.
As summer
draws to a close and the kids head back to school, we wish you a
safe and healthy season. Thank you as always for taking a moment to
read our monthly Health Matters. Please call or email us if we can
do anything for you.
Sincerely,
Your
GreenField Health Team
Amanda Clark, MA, your Health Coordinator (email)
Angie Ashburn, CMA, your Health Coordinator
(email)
Beth Davis, your Business Office Manager
(email)
Chuck Kilo, MD
(email)
Cindy King, your Benefits Coordinator and Biller
(email)
Connie Turner, MA, your Health Coordinator
(email)
Cynthia Ferrier, MD
(email)
Dana Lee, MA, your Clinical Supervisor (email)
David Hays, MD
(email)
David Shute, MD (email)
Desi Lowder, CMA, your Health Coordinator (email)
Elizabeth Hays, MD
(email)
Jill Arena, your COO
(email)
Joel Swartzmiller, your IT Manager
(email)
Kim Walgraeve, your Marketing Manager(email)
Kristin Walker, your Program and Executive Assistant
(email)
Lea Robinson, your Administrative Assistant
(email)
Malcolm McAninch, MD
(email)
Maria Soutavong, MA, your Health Coordinator
(email)
Meena Mital, MD
(email)
Pam Mockenhaupt, CMA, your Health Coordinator and Biller
(email)
Paula Koeller, MD
(email)
Samantha Charles, your Clinic Administrator
(email)
Todd Canon, MD,
(email)
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GreenField Health at Barnes Road GreenField Health at NE Broadway
9427 SW Barnes Road, Suite 590 2606 NE Broadway, Suite C
Portland, OR 97225 Portland, OR 97232
Phone: 503.292.9560
Fax: 503.292.9510
Web:
http://www.GreenFieldHealth.com
questions, concerns, comments always
appreciated:
questions@GreenFieldHealth.com
© 2003-2008 GreenField Health
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