In the News
Paralyzed patients can move again with nerve stimulation, HCMC clinical trial confirms
While results have varied among about 20 trial participants, the takeaway so far is that people can regain function after spinal cord injuries and not merely maintain whatever limited mobility they have, said Dr. David Darrow, the lead investigator.
Doctors see rise in ear infections, strep throat in kids
Dr. Stacene Maroushek is a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Hennepin Healthcare. She says pediatricians are seeing a lot of viruses right now and viral infections can often cause an ear infection in young kids.
Major changes made to improve emergency response times on Lake Minnetonka
On Lake Minnetonka in the west metro, this year will be the first with two major changes that first responders with Hennepin Healthcare say are targeted at keeping people safe – all while improving response times.
“I think the water rescue team being with the paramedics on the boat is going to make a really, really big difference,” said Hennepin EMS Chief Marty Scheerer. “Now, we’ll be right on scene. We’ll have a really quick response. We’ll have our defibrillator there, we’ll have our airway equipment, we’ll have all of our equipment there. It’s going to be fun.”
Structural racism and resilience in Psychiatry training with Frank Clark, MD and Dionne Hart, MD
Though medical schools and residency training programs are actively recruiting medical students from underrepresented minorities, acceptance on to these programs is just the beginning. To talk about the challenges minority physicians face throughout their training and the structural changes that might be needed to address these, we caught up with Dr Frank Clark and Dr Dionne Hart at the 2023 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association.
How local health giants are championing inclusivity
“We have a massive amount of educators and thought, Beyond an educational experience, we have to provide real-time bedside interventions, so we created a DEI clinician role, where mental health–trained, PhD-level professionals are positioned to help ‘in the moment’ discussions around racism,” said Dr. Nneka Sederstrom.
For emergency medical responders, seconds count in saving lives.
“It’s really about accessibility,” says Nicholas Simpson, the Chief Medical Director with Hennepin EMS. “Because nobody plans to have an emergency.”
Good Question: What are the benefits of a “sleep divorce”?
Snoring or worse often leads couples to visit Dr. Ranji Varghese. He’s the director of the Minnesota Regional Sleep Disorder Center at Hennepin Healthcare.
“People like to call me a marriage counselor because sometimes when I fix one person’s sleep, the relationship gets a whole lot better,” Dr. Varghese joked.
New weight loss drug could be a game changer
PA Natalie Ikeman from Hennepin Healthcare tells us about an exciting new drug that could change the weight loss world.
Minnesota mom overcomes 1% chance of survival after being trampled by steer
“The goal for us is to get patients back to their families. And to know that she’s able to go back home to her kids and her husband, that feels really good. That feels like a big win,” said Dr. Alex Coward.
Hennepin Healthcare hosts event to get Indigenous youth interested in health care careers
“There’s a really significant thing that happens when you are a patient in your most vulnerable stage and you see someone like you walk into the room,” said Aida Strom of Hennepin Healthcare.
Doctor’s quick thinking helps save some vision for man who woke up blind in one eye
“We see a little bit of recovery sometimes. We’d certainly never expect any recovery,” Dr. Laurence Ducker said. “It’s always just hoping that it doesn’t get worse. I think it’s a wonderful little miracle.”
2023 Top Doctors: Rising Stars Edition
Amanda Jean Noska, MD, MPH, Infectious disease specialist, Hennepin Healthcare, Why did you choose your field? I thought I wanted to be a family doctor. As I went through training, I felt that the knowledge base required to be a family physician wasn’t my strongest skill set, and I wanted to be able to follow things down the rabbit hole. I also ended up really loving every infectious disease doctor I ever worked with.
Welcome access for Narcan, a tool to thwart overdose deaths
Medical experts reacted favorably. Dr. Charles Reznikoff, an addiction doctor and internist with Hennepin Healthcare, said the FDA’s move is safe and appropriate. In an interview, he cited research showing that for every 11 Narcan doses distributed to people with opioid addiction, one life will be saved.
Minn. health systems are dropping mask requirements for patients, staff
Officials at Hennepin Healthcare said they also plan to make changes to their masking policies. Starting April 11, masking by staff will continue in patient-facing areas, like exam rooms, therapy areas and front desks, but are no longer required in other places, like elevators, cafeterias and conference rooms.
Minneapolis entrepreneur gets life-changing call
When FOX 9 first met Kamesha Davenport five years ago, she was working to get her life back together after a car slammed into her home. Since then, she has started a new business and is now on the path toward success after a life-changing call. “We want to really make an impact with our local community,” said David Grounds, Supply Chain Manager at Hennepin Healthcare. “We’ve had some suffering in downtown Minneapolis — I think everybody’s aware what we’ve had to go through. Part of our strategic vision is to try to build up and create business relationships with the patients we serve and the community that we’re in.”
FDA approves first over-the-counter version of Narcan to combat opioid overdose epidemic
Dr. Charles Reznikoff specializes in addiction medicine at Hennepin Healthcare. He says they’ve seen a 30% rise in overdose deaths and it’s affecting all ages and races. He hopes over the counter sales will help lower those statistics.
“There’s no reason every household shouldn’t have one of these. Everyone can have one in their backpack and people’s lives will be saved,” Reznikoff said.
DEA warning on growing use of fentanyl with ‘tranq’
Hennepin Healthcare’s Addictive Medicine Director, Gavin Bart says the xylazine can interfere with the overdose-saving drug naloxone which prompts extra concern from health officials.
$26.4 million grant helps Minnesota hospitals find life-threatening conditions
The grant announcement took place at Hennepin Healthcare in Minneapolis, which pioneered ER use of ultrasound technology. Rising violence in the mid-1980s resulted in more patients at HCMC with stab wounds to the heart that were difficult to detect unless patients went into cardiac arrest, said Dr. Dave Plummer, an HCMC emergency medicine specialist.
Hennepin Healthcare provided one- or two-day training seminars in the past, but found doctors and other providers still didn’t feel comfortable making diagnostic decisions with the technology back at their hospitals, said Dr. Robert Reardon, an HCMC emergency medicine physician.
Northland health systems get $1.7 million for ultrasound equipment
Point-of-care ultrasound machines are used at the bedside of a patient for immediate assessment, and can diagnose conditions including internal bleeding, collapsed lungs, ruptured aortic aneurysms and about 60 other life-threatening problems that require immediate diagnosis and intervention, according to David Plummer, a Hennepin Healthcare doctor of emergency medicine who was among the first in the country to study the efficacy of ultrasound systems in emergency care.
Grant provides new ultrasounds to rural Minnesota hospitals
“It’s about sixty things we can look at with high degrees of efficiency, and all of them require immediate diagnosis and immediate intervention to improve outcome. We didn’t expect that,” said Dr. David Plummer, an Emergency Medicine Physician with Hennepin Healthcare.
