Beaufort Memorial Hospital Living Well- Spring 2015

Living WellLiving Well

PLUS how the show must go on for actress Judi Dench despite a serious eye condition

ClassSenior

�ways to make the�later years your best�32

HEART ATTACKPATIENT DOESN’TSKIP A BEAT

THE BENEFITSOF SINGLE-SITEHYSTERCTOMY

LESSONSFOR ALONG LIFE

SPRING 2015

Living WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellLiving WellBEAUFORTMEMORIAL.ORG

Get to know two of Beaufort Memorial’s newest physician partners—out of the white coat. See page 6.

Your secure medicalrecord is live. Log in.

Get started today at www.mybmh.org

Digital records are good for health care and even better for your health.Activate your secure MyBMH online medical record to:

• View Beaufort Memorial lab and imaging results • Review medical record details• Access discharge instructions• Receive secure messages from care providers• Access anytime, from any computer• Access physician offi ce records and request appointments

and prescription refi lls – coming soon

ContentsSPRING 2015

36 Gone Without a TraceHysterectomy

scars are a thing of the past thanks to single-site surgery.

FEATURES9 Age Is Just a Number

Past your prime? Maybe not. See some

amazing achievements by older folks.

10 The Long ViewDespite a serious eye condition,

actress Judi Dench is determined to do what she loves at age 80 and beyond.

14 You: Part 2Life is full of sur-prises, and they

don’t stop when you’re on the other side of 50.

22 Going Through the MotionsOur joints endure

a lifetime of bending, twist-ing and rotating. Here’s how to keep them in top shape.

28 Your Last Chapter: Expressing

End-of-Life WishesIt’s something that no one wants to think about, but

everyone needs to.

33 Hale and HeartyHeart attack patient Deb

Hopewell was the picture of health before her massive heart attack at 57.

8 Ask the ExpertJoint Eff ort: Find out what you can do to prevent the pain of arthritis.

Can too much gaming cause osteoarthritis? PAGE 43

How to cook Popeye’s favorite veggie PAGE 54Studies show

that people often save the happiest years for last.PAGE 16

COVER PHOTO BY NEIL TINGLE-ALLSTAR-GLOBE PHOTOS INC.

THE BIG STORY

Can too much gaming cause osteoarthritis? PAGE 43

SPRING 2015 1

IN EVERY ISSUE 2 Opening Thoughts 3 Introductions 4 Collected Wisdom 6 Out of the White Coat 38 Foundation-Building 42 This Just In 44 The Truth About Allergies 46 Healthy Buys: Golden Gifts 50 Quiz: Freak Out or

Chill Out? 52 At a Glance: Smoke Alarm 54 In the Market: Spinach 56 Health by the Numbers:

Focus on Fertility

Opening ThOughTs

It’s a new year, and that often means a commitment to making changes that will benefit you.

At your community hospital, you’ll find the same commitment. I am excited to fill you in on some new changes we’ve committed to that could ben-efit you and your family members and friends in the Lowcountry.

A Face-lift for OBIt’s been nearly 20 years since The Beaufort Memorial Birthing Center has seen major changes to its interior, and it’s time to bring new life into the unit in the form of a $3 million renovation to include new floors, furnishings and amenities, a new entrance and waiting area, and much more.

We are working on the timetable for these improvements. For now, you can learn more about them and how they will benefit mothers-to-be and their families, as well as see drawings of the proposed plans, by visiting our website at beaufortmemorial.org.

An ICU Expansion What began last year as a major renovation and expansion to our pre-existing eight-bed Intensive Care Unit (ICU) is nearing completion—a major feat with big benefits to our patients and staff.

Our soon-to-be-open 12-bed ICU will not only provide more room to care for our sickest patients, but it will also feature equipment and technology to

A New YeAr of

Improved HealtHBMH continues to further its commitment to providing excellent healthcare to the Lowcountry

Living Well, a subtitle of Vim & Vigor™, Spring 2015, Volume 31, Number 1, is published quarterly by McMUrry/TMG, LLC, 1010 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85014, 602-395-5850. Vim & Vigor™ is published for the purpose of disseminating health-related informa-tion for the well-being of the general public and its subscribers. The information contained in Vim & Vigor™ is not intended for the purpose of diagnosing or prescribing. Please consult your physician before undertaking any form of medical treatment and/or adopting any exercise program or dietary guidelines. Vim & Vigor™ does not accept advertising promoting the consumption of alcohol or tobacco. Copyright © 2015 by McMUrry/TMG, LLC. All rights reserved. Subscriptions in U.S.: $4 for one year (4 issues). Single copies: $2.95. For subscriptions, write: Circulation Manager, Vim & Vigor™, 1010 E. Missouri Ave., Phoenix, AZ 85014.

BEAUFOrt MEMOrIAl HOspItAl

prEsIdEnt & CEOrichard K. Toomey, DHA, FACHE

BMH BOArd OF trUstEEs Terry Murray, ChairPat Thompson, MD, Vice ChairDavid Tedder, Secretary/TreasurerAndrea Allen, MS, LMSWKathleen CooperDavid HouseWilliam “Bill” HimmelsbachFaith Polkey, MDJames Simmons, MD

Ex-OFFICIO MEMBErsJ. Chadwick Tober, MD, Chief of StaffWilliam “Bill” Harvey, Foundation ChairmanBill McBride, Beaufort County Council representative

BMH EdItOrIAlCourtney McDermott, Director, Marketing & CommunicationsSallie Stone, Editor and Marketing & Communications Senior

AssociatePaul Nurnberg, Photographer

prOdUCtIOnEditorialEdItOr-In-CHIEF: Amy Saunders EdItOrs: Erin Feeney, Meghan Krein, Matt Morgan,

Ellen Olson, Tom Weede COpy EdItOr: C.J. Hutchinson

dEsignCHIEF Art dIrECtOr: Tami rodgers Art dIrECtOrs: rod Karmenzind, Kay Morrow

ProductionsEnIOr prOdUCtIOn MAnAgEr: Laura MarlowespECIAl prOjECts & prICIng MAnAgEr: Jenny BabichIMAgIng spECIAlIst: Dane NordineprOdUCtIOn tECHnOlOgy spECIAlIsts: Julie Chan,

Sonia Fitzgerald

circulationsEnIOr dIrECtOr OF BUsInEss IntEllIgEnCE grOUp:

Tracey LenzpOstAl AFFAIrs & lOgIstICs dIrECtOr: Joseph Abeyta

ClIEnt sErvICEsCHIEF ClIEnt OFFICEr: Beth Tomkiw ClIEnt strAtEgy And sErvICEs MAnAgErs: Annika

Honkanen, Lauren Keeton, Gerry Kubek, Barbara Mohr

AdMInIstrAtIOn CHIEF ExECUtIvE OFFICEr: Matthew J. Petersensvp, BUsInEss dEvElOpMEnt – HEAltHCArE:

Gregg radzely, 212-574-4380CrEAtIvE dIrECtOr: Marc OxborrowVim & Vigor FOUndEr: J. Barry JohnsonCHAIrMAn EMErItUs: Preston V. McMurry, Jr.

Beaufort Memorial Hospital955 ribaut road

Beaufort, SC 29902843-522-5200

843-522-5585 – Doctor referral Service

If you wish to be removed from the mailing list, please visit mcmurrytmg.com/circulation.

enhance their care, including a new patient monitoring system.

A joint that’s Hoppin’The Beaufort Memorial Joint replacement Center (JrC) officially opened 18 months ago with a private wing on our fourth floor. Since then, the dedicated physicians and staff of the JrC have graduated more than 600 patients from the program, earned a total joint center of distinction desig-nation from Blue Cross Blue Shield and put hundreds of satisfied patients back on their feet and back to living well.

A portal to your HealthIn November 2014 we launched the MyBMH Patient Portal, offering patients secure access to their personal health information through the hospital’s first online medical record.

This year that portal has expanded to include medical information from Beaufort Memorial physician practices to provide you with a more comprehen-sive view of your medical information. Among the portal’s other new features is the ability to request appointments and prescriptions. you can read more about MyBMH in this issue.

These are just a few of the many changes taking place at your community hospital, and we’re proud to be able to offer them to you.

Here’s to a new year, and a new you! n

SPRING 20152

Manage Your HealtH witH MYBMHNew online program makes it easy to keep up with your medical care

Want to take better control of your health? Log in. Beaufort Memorial Hospital’s

new online patient portal, MyBMH, pro-vides private, secure access to your personal health information anytime from any computer. With just a click of the mouse, you can view hospital lab and imaging results, access discharge instructions, request a prescription renewal and even schedule an appoint-ment with your doctor.

“The goal is to engage patients in their own healthcare,” says Ed Ricks, Beaufort Memorial’s chief informa-tion officer. “With insurance deduct-ibles and out-of-pocket costs going up, there’s more incentive than ever to become proactive.”

The program is free and open to any-one who has been treated at Beaufort Memorial or is seeing a BMH physician. To register, you’ll need the personal identification number (PIN) provided

to you at the hospital or your doctor’s office. If you haven’t already received a PIN, contact the MyBMH support center at [email protected] or call 843-522-7001.

Once you have your PIN, go to mybmh.org and click “Register Now” to log in and create your own username and password. You’ll be prompted to provide some basic information like your name, date of birth and email address.

With MyBMH, you’ll be able to:• View the last six months of clinical

data from your hospital medical record, including medications, immunizations and health issues.

• Access laboratory and imaging test results after your physician reviews them, usually within 72 hours.

• Pay hospital bills online.• Send messages to and receive mes-

sages from physician practices.• Access trusted health information

resources.• Update allergies and other health-

related data, as well as demographic information like your phone number and address.

• Request a physician referral.In the second phase of the pro-

gram, expected to launch this year, a navigation tool will allow patients with a chronic illness like diabetes or congestive heart failure to enter important health information related to their condition, including blood glucose levels and weight, allowing hospital care managers to monitor changes in their health and intervene before they require hospitalization.

“If we can catch signs of distress early,” Ricks says, “we can keep people out of the ER.” n

IntroductIonsPH

OTO

BY

THIN

kSTO

ck

SPRING 2015 3

pho

tos by th

inksto

ck ColleCted Wisdom

Plant SlantYour mother was right to make you eat your veggies. They’re one of the cor-nerstones of a healthy diet. Add whole grains and beans to the menu and you’re on your way to becoming a centenarian.

At minimum, eat four vegetable serv-ings every day. Rather than hiding them in a refrigerator drawer, put them front and center where you’re more likely to grab them for a snack.

Nuts are another must-have in your meal plan—but only a handful. One ounce of nuts is about 200 calories.

While plant foods should fill your shop-ping cart, that doesn’t mean you can’t have meat on occasion. Just limit it to twice a week and portions no larger than a deck of cards.

Tricks of The Tradein the pacific island of okinawa—home to some of the world’s longest-lived people—residents follow a simple rule: they stop eating when their stomachs are 80 percent full. Daily calorie intake is only about 1,900 calories.

here are some tips to help you eat like an okinawan:• Serve your meals on smaller dishes. you can clean

your plate and still keep to your recommended calorie limit.• Out of sight, out of mouth. store goodies where you

won’t see them every time you open the cupboard. better yet, don’t buy all those high-calorie snacks. if they’re not available, you can’t eat them.

• Slow down and savor your food. it gives your stomach time to tell your brain you’re no longer hungry.

• Weigh in daily. it will help you stay on course to drop those extra pounds—and keep them off.

• Eat at the kitchen table and not in front of the tV. Mindless eating can lead to unnecessary weight gain.

• Instead of chowing down a large hamburger, reduce the size of the patty and pile on the lettuce, tomato, onions and mushrooms.

ask the experts

Diet Dos and Don’tsMake an appointment with one of LifeFit Wellness Center’s registered dietitians. She can provide advice on what to eat to lead a healthy life or achieve a specific health-related goal. Call 843-522-5635 to schedule a consultation.

SPRING 20154

pho

to b

y th

inks

tock

UnplUg from the electronicsWe all know how damaging stress can be to our physical and mental health. But how do you slow down when you’re suffering from electronic overload? Between television, computers and smart phones, it seems we’re always “on.”

A 2011 poll found 95 percent of Americans use some form of technology in the hour before bed. Even if it’s for entertain-ment, it can still be detrimental to your health. The blue light emitted from electronic devices

prevents the release of mela-tonin, a hormone that helps you sleep. Studies have shown people who send a text, surf the Web or email before bed are more likely to experience insomnia, which in turn can increase stress.

Convinced? Then shut off the gadgets and spend the last hour of the day slowing down your mind. Take a warm bath, read a book or listen to sooth-ing music to help ensure a full night of ZZZs.

Get MovinG!Working out at the gym isn’t the only way to get in the recom-mended 30 minutes of exercise a day. Rather than hopping on a treadmill, walk to the store. Ride your bike to work instead of driving. the idea is to include activity in your everyday life.

consider planting a garden. the tasks required to tend to vegetables—digging, weeding, harvesting—offer a wide range of low-intensity activity with a full range of motion. Gardening also can relieve stress and give you a sense of satisfaction. And you’re rewarded with all that heart-healthy goodness.

if you do just one thing, walk. it’s the common activity shared by all cultures known for extreme longevity. Walking is easier on the joints than running, it’s free and it’s accessible no matter where you live. the American heart Association recommends taking 10,000 steps a day, the equiva-lent of roughly five miles. those steps will improve your cardio-vascular health, strengthen your muscles, decrease your chances of developing disease and ward off depression. so, tie up your tennies and hit the road!

Make Yourself usefulEven if you’re retired, you should have a reason to get up in the morning. Having a sense of purpose can reduce stress, prevent depression and make you feel good about yourself.

In a study funded by the National Institutes of Health, researchers found that people between the ages of 65 and 92 who had a clear goal in life lived longer and were sharper than those who did not. Your purpose can be as simple as volunteering at a pet shelter, baby-sitting your grandkids or tending to your garden.

Taking up a new activity or learning a new skill offers a double benefit. It gives you a purpose and strengthens your brain, helping decrease your rate of memory loss.

volunteer today

Help Out at the HospitalBeaufort Memorial is always looking for volunteers to help with any number of jobs, from greeting visi-tors and patients to filing and copying. For more information on current volunteering opportuni-ties, call Volunteer Services Director Ray Brown at 843-522-7928.

by the numbers

53,364

18

20.5

78

Number of centenarians

in the U.S. in 2010

Life expectancy of a child

born in 2012

Number of years longer a

65-year-old man can expect

to live

Number of years longer a 65-year-old woman can

expect to live

yEARS AND 9½

MoNThS

SPRING 2015 5

A MATCH MADE IN MED SCHOOLBMH doctors have been practicing—and playing—together for 23 years

Eve Ashby, DO

It was in an ethics class in med school that Eve Anne Ashby, DO, fell in love with

her husband, Richard Stewart, DO.“I was looking for Sylvester Stallone,”

Ashby admits. “He doesn’t look anything like Sylvester Stallone.”

No matter. The two students hit it off . They spent hours studying together, dis-cussing ethical issues physicians face.

“Over the course of the semester, I got to know him really well,” Ashby says. “I realized he was a really good guy.”

OUT OF THE WHITE COAT

CALL

Eve Ashby, DO, is a board-certifi ed gynecologist with Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group. She can be reached at 843-770-0404.

The day they graduated from med school, Stewart proposed to Ashby. The OB-GYN and the gastroenterolo-gist married in December 1991. They’ve been practicing together ever since.

“In the offi ce, he’s very serious,” Ashby says, “but he’s so funny. He makes me laugh all the time.”

Three years after tying the knot, the couple had their fi rst daughter, Grace. Rosie followed three years later. In 2000, when they moved to Beaufort, Ashby decided to continue practicing gyne-cology but give up obstetrics to spend more time with the girls.

“I wanted to be home in the afternoon when they got out of school,” she says. “I miss the OB practice, but I don’t have any regrets.”

Now that her daughters are nearly grown and self-suffi cient, Ashby has more time to spend doing some of the other things she loves—reading, exercising and being with her husband.

And her professional life has never been busier. In addition to her GYN

practice, she’s taken on teaching. Two years ago she accepted the position of regional director of medical educa-tion for Arizona’s A.T. Still University School of Osteopathic Medicine. Besides teaching online courses at night, she works with students rotating through the school’s local clinic Wednesday afternoons and Friday mornings.

“I really enjoy teaching,” Ashby says. “The students challenge me. They make me a better doctor.”

SPRING 20156

Richard Stewart, DO

Richard Stewart, DO, took one for the team when he agreed to run Disney’s

Princess Half Marathon with his wife and two daughters.

“A lot of the runners wear tutus,” Stewart says. “I wasn’t that brave.”

Tutus and tiaras aside, Stewart had a great time running with his family through the Magic Kingdom and Epcot—even if he was one of just a few men participating in the 13.1-mile race.

An avid runner in college and medi-cal school, Stewart hung up his sneak-ers when he moved from New Jersey to Beaufort in 2000 to become the only gastroenterologist in the multispecialty Lowcountry Medical Group practice.

“Those first three years before I had a partner, I was working extremely hard and didn’t have time to exercise,” he recalls. “I was 30 pounds heavier than I am today.”

His wife, Eve Anne Ashby, DO, a gyne-cologist in the same practice, also had gained weight and was looking to get back to a healthier lifestyle. They began running together and were soon joined by their two young daughters.

The foursome competed in a few fun 5Ks, then graduated to 10Ks. The Disney Princess race was one of two half-marathons the family ran as a group. Stewart went on to run his first full marathon three years ago in celebra-tion of his 50th birthday.

“It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done,” he says. “I definitely want to do it again.”

The Lady’s Island resident continues to run several times a week, but these days he runs solo. His wife prefers spin classes and his daughter Rose, 17, exer-cises on her own. Grace, his 20-year-old, is studying at Clemson.

The family still enjoys traveling together, attending concerts, tailgating at Clemson football games and hanging out on the beach at their Fripp Island home.

“Some holidays, we’ll make it out to a fish camp I share with my buddies,” he says. “It’s all about being together.” n

CALL

Richard Stewart, DO, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist with Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group. He can be reached at 843-770-0404.

SPRING 2015 7

Ask the expert

Aging with ArthritisBy the time we reach our 60s, most of us will be feeling the joint pain and stiffness that come with arthritis, says orthopedic surgeon Edward Blocker, MD. But there’s plenty we can do to alleviate the symptoms and go on living well.

Q Is arthritis part of the natural aging process?The odds of developing arthritis

in your lifetime are virtually 100 per-cent. Like the rubber in your car tires, the shiny white cartilage cushioning your joints wears down over time, causing pain, stiffness and swell-ing. However, this is not to say that everyone will have major symptoms from arthritis.

You may start feeling symptoms in your 40s, but they probably won’t slow you down. About the time most people reach their mid-60s, the pain may be bad enough to seek medical attention.

Q What is the most common form of arthritis in older adults?

Osteoarthritis, sometimes called wear-and-tear arthritis, is the most common form, and one of the most frequent causes of physical impairment among older people. The arthritic joint I see most often in my practice is the knee, then hips, fingers and shoulders.

Q Is there anything I can do to prevent osteoarthritis or its progression?

Motion is good for the joints, but limit it to low-impact exercises, like walking,

riding a bicycle and swimming. Doubles tennis, pickleball and golf are good, too. Avoid running or contact sports that can injure the cartilage. If you like working out at the gym, include training machines that strengthen the muscles around the joint.

Maintain a healthy weight to reduce any extra forces on your joints. It’s bet-ter to eat a sensible diet that includes calcium and vitamin D than to take sup-plements. Dairy products are absorbed better by your body than calcium pills.

Q What treatments are avail-able for osteoarthritis?Inflammation of the joint causes

the symptoms of arthritis, so we usu-ally suggest patients start out trying over-the-counter anti-inflammatory pain relievers like Advil, Aleve or Motrin as long as they don’t have a medical condition that prevents them from doing so. If that doesn’t help, we would prescribe stronger prescription anti-inflammatory drugs.

The next course of action can be a cortisone injection. Arthritis in the knee also can be treated with viscosupple-mentation, a kind of lubricant that is injected directly into the knee. This usually involves a series of three to five injections a week apart.

If, despite these conservative mea-sures, the pain begins limiting even simple activities, such as climbing stairs, shopping or gardening, it may be time for total knee replacement surgery.

Dr. Edward Blocker is a board-certified orthopedic surgeon with Beaufort Memorial Orthopaedic Specialists. He can be reached at 843-522-7100. n

Edward Blocker, MD

PHO

TO bY TH

InksTO

ck

SPRING 20158

pho

to b

y g

etty

/ ret

ales

bo

tije

ro

AgingIssue

The

Age is Just A Number

The golden years are full of golden opportunities, and it’s never too late to make a change for the better. Read on for more proof that your happiest years may be yet to come.

Past your prime? There is no such thing, according to these individuals who achieved greatness well beyond middle age

65 laura ingalls Wilder pub-

lished the first book in her Little House

series in 1932.

69in 1981,

ronald reagan became

president of the United States, 16

days shy of his 70th birthday.

70benjamin Franklin

signed the Declaration of Independence

in 1776.

72swedish

shooter oscar swahn took

silver at the 1920

Olympics, making him the oldest olympic medal winner.

77While serving

as a United states senator,

john glenn embarked on

his second space flight

in 1998.

82in his seventh decade of act-

ing, Christopher plummer

captured his first Academy Award in 2012.

92in 2011, gladys burrill became

the oldest female mara-thon finisher after running

her first mara-thon at 86.

spring 2015 9

VIEWVIEW

PHO

TO B

Y N

EIL

TIN

GLE

-ALL

STAR

-GLO

BE P

HO

TOS,

INC.

THELONGDespite a serious eye condition, actress JUDI DENCH is determined to do what she loves at age 80 and beyond BY AMY SAUNDERS

SPRING 201510

JUDI DENCH never read the script for Philomena, the fi lm that earned her an Academy Award nomination in 2013. She couldn’t see the words.

Macular degeneration, an incurable disease that results in the loss of central vision, requires that Dench memorize lines by listening to friends and co-stars read aloud. These days, as daylight fades into darkness, she struggles even to dis-tinguish the face of a companion across the dinner table.

But Dame Dench isn’t just known for playing commanding women, from queens of England to James Bond’s boss. She’s equally determined in her off -screen life. After turning 80 in December, she insists on acting for as long as she can. “I suppose I could always be wheeled onstage if necessary,” she told The Guardian. She bristles at the oft-asked question, when is it time to stop?

“It’s the rudest word in my dictionary, retire,” she told The Hollywood Reporter last year. “And old is another one. I don’t allow that in my house.” >

JUDI DENCHthe script for the fi lm that earned her an Academy Award nomination in 2013. She couldn’t see the words.

Macular degeneration, an incurable disease that results in the loss of central vision, requires that Dench memorize lines by listening to friends and co-stars read aloud. These days, as daylight fades into darkness, she struggles even to dis-tinguish the face of a companion across the dinner table.

But Dame Dench isn’t just known for playing commanding women, from queens of England to James Bond’s boss. She’s equally determined in her off -screen life. After turning 80 in December, she insists on acting for as long as she can. “I suppose I could always be wheeled onstage if necessary,” she told The Guardianasked question, when is it time to stop?

“It’s the rudest word in my dictionary, retire,” she told last year. “And allow that in my house.” >

SPRING 2015 11

In focusing on her career, Dench has also challenged herself physically. In 2013, she had knee replacement surgery less than six weeks before the premiere of Philomena. “I said to my surgeon, ‘On Oct. 16, I will walk up a red carpet unaided,’ and so I did,” she told Britain’s Daily Mirror. “You set your mind to a goal and go for it.”

American Geriatrics Society President Wayne McCormick, MD, sees multiple health benefi ts in Dench’s pursuits. “She’s basically exercising her mind every time she’s rehearsing for a play, and she’s exercising her body by acting—both of which are very important for healthy aging,” he says. “Staying socially active is another very important part. … I imagine that she’s almost never work-ing by herself.”

Following a similar regimen hardly requires Academy Award-winning ambition. Completing a crossword puzzle gives the mind a workout, while walking even 15 minutes each day has

10 THINGS YOU (PROBABLY) DON’T KNOW ABOUT JUDI DENCH1 She beat out Laurence Olivier for

greatest stage actor ever. That’s accord-ing to readers of the arts publication The Stage, who in 2010 voted to bestow the honor.

2 Acting is part of the family business.Dench’s father was a physician for a theater company, and her mother served as ward-robe mistress. Her late husband and brother were actors, as is her daughter.

3 Her Highness thinks highly of her. Dench, appointed a Dame in 1988, was in 2005 named by Queen Elizabeth II a Companion of Honour—a recognition given to only 47 Brits at a time.

4 She can sing, too. In 1968, Dench played the lead in the original London production of Cabaret. More recently, she sang a number in the 2009 fi lm Nine.

5 She initially wanted to be a set designer. At the Central School of Speech and Drama, Dench later changed her course of study to acting.

6 After attending a Quaker boarding school at 14, she adopted the religion. “I think it informs everything I do,” she told the U.K.’s Channel 4 News.

7 She co-owned a racehorse, Smokey Oakey. Last year Dench gifted her beloved horse, upon his retirement, to an equestrian

center that hosts a riding program for dis-abled children.

8 You can hear her voice at Epcot … Since 2008, Dench’s voice has narrated the ride inside Spaceship Earth, the famous “golf ball” at Disney World.

9 … and in cartoons about dancing mice. For the children’s TV series Angelina Ballerina, Dench lent her voice to Miss Lilly, the ballet instructor who teaches Angelina—voiced by Finty Williams, Dench’s daughter.

10 She has made needlepoint gifts for co-stars. But not in a grandmotherly way: The foul phrases she stitched aren’t suitable for print.

Between 1997 and 2001, Dench received four Academy Award nomina-tions, collecting a win in 1998 for playing Queen Elizabeth I in Shakespeare in Love. She now has seven Oscar nominations to her name, more than any other 60-plus actor in history, according to imdb.com.

The Action of ActingDench hasn’t allowed herself to slow down. Thanks to a nearly nonstop fi lm-ing schedule, she has amassed more than 40 fi lm and TV credits in the past two decades. This March, she stars in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel 2, a sequel to the 2011 comedy about British retir-ees moving to India.

She paused only in 2001, when her husband of 30 years, actor Michael Williams, died of lung cancer. Even then, Dench chose to push on through her grief, beginning her work on The Shipping News within weeks. “It’s the best thing I could have done,” she told The Times of London.

Hollywood Debut at 61After all, at the age when many might be counting down to retirement, Dench was only beginning her movie career.

In 1995, when she made her Hollywood debut in the James Bond fi lm GoldenEye, the native of York, England, had been acting onstage for nearly four decades, tackling some of Shakespeare’s greatest roles: Juliet, Ophelia, Lady Macbeth, Cleopatra.

Dench hadn’t aspired to be on-screen, preferring the interactivity and improvisation of the stage. And she was told early in her career that she wasn’t cut out for the camera—she had “every single thing wrong” with her face, she recalled in an interview with The Guardian.

But at 61, Dench took on the role of M, which she would reprise for six more Bond movies. An actress unknown to most Americans, who hadn’t visited the United States in nearly 40 years, was on the verge of quite the second act.

SPRING 201512

been shown to prolong a healthy life, McCormick says.

He encourages patients to incorporate activity into daily routines. Instead of brewing coffee at home, for example, walk to a shop to buy a cup and strike up a con-versation. “Whatever you can do to make healthy behaviors into habitual behaviors is going to be positive,” he says.

Dench has said that she loves quizzes and trivia for the same reason she loves acting: the opportunity to learn. Every role, she has said, presents a challenge that must be overcome.

“I never want to stop,” she told The Guardian. “I need to learn every day.”

Optimistic AgingDench hates to be reminded that she’s 80—nearly twice the age she feels. “I am about 43, a tall, willowy, blond 43-year-old with long legs,” she joked to the Daily Mirror last year.

She doesn’t elaborate about how dif-ficult it must be to memorize lines she can’t read, connect with co-stars she can’t see. She often remarks that she’d rather listen to the script anyway.

“It is much better having the story told to you, because ultimately that’s what the job is, telling an audience the story,” she told the Daily Mirror.

Dench embodies the attitude asso-ciated with a long, healthy life, says Hilary Tindle, MD, an internist and the author of Up: How Positive Outlook Can Transform Our Health and Aging.

In an eight-year study of nearly 100,000 women, Tindle and her col-leagues found that optimists had a 30 percent lower risk for death from heart disease compared with pessi-mists. The optimists—generally, people who expect a positive future—also were less likely to have diabetes, high blood pressure, depression and obesity.

Optimism doesn’t mean denying or ignoring problems, but embracing the idea that life can be changed—a skill, Tindle says, that can be learned.

“Positive people, in the true sense of the word, learn to acknowledge the adversity that’s around them,” she says. “They just shift their attention to the good things that are happening.”

For her part, Dench acknowledged to The Hollywood Reporter that living with macular degeneration—unable to enjoy reading, painting or sewing as she used to—is “very, very difficult.”

“But these are all of the negatives,” she said. “I don’t want to really think about all that. What I can do, I do.” nph

oto

co

urt

sey

the

wei

nst

ein

co

mpa

ny

Judi Dench and Steve Coogan in the 2013 film Philomena.

SPRING 2015 13

FdVVSP1500_10-13_JudiDench.indd 13 10/20/14 12:33 PM

The FacTs: Macular DegeneraTionAge-related macular degeneration (AMD) is the leading cause of severe vision loss for Americans 60 and older. Some facts about the disease:3Macular degeneration is caused by

deterioration of the macula, the central portion of the retina needed to see straight ahead, read or drive a car. Vision increasingly blurs as the disease progresses.3Older adults, Caucasians and those

with a family history are most likely to develop the disease.3AMD cannot be cured but can be

slowed with injections, laser therapy or surgery.

BMH board-certified ophthalmologist Jane Kokinakis, DO, of Beaufort Eye Center, suggests adults 60 and older have a dilated eye exam every year to monitor for macu-lar changes.

The National Eye Institute’s second Age-Related Eye Disease Study is helping us better understand the appropriate dos-age of supplemental antioxidants needed to slow the progression of vision loss.

You can find an excellent explanation of the use of supplements in an article released by the National Institutes of Health. Search the Internet for “NIH study provides clar-ity on supplements for protection against blinding eye disease.”

website

Keeping Your Body in BalanceBeaufort Memorial’s LifeFit Wellness Center offers tai chi classes designed to help build up your core stability and improve your balance and flex-ibility. To learn more about any of the group classes at LifeFit, visit beaufortmemorial.org.

FdVVSP1599_13-31_Commons.indd 13 12/8/14 7:55 AM

THE BIG STORYph

oto

by getty/jo

shua blake

SPRING 201514

You:Part 2

Life is full of surprises, and they don’t stop when you’re on the other

side of 50. Here’s what you can expect from your second act By BoB Payne

SPRING 2015 15

pho

to by g

etty/Daly an

D n

ewto

n

Remember teenager Richie Cunningham and his greaser friend, The Fonz, in the 1970s sitcom Happy Days? Life seemed so inno-cent: the jukebox, the milkshakes, the varsity jackets. Well, no need to get too nostalgic, because for people moving past 50, the happiest

days may be still ahead.

Happy Days

Older people, studies show, are more

content than younger folks

Older people tend to enjoy the present instead of worrying about the future.

FINDING JOY

SPRING 201516

“Study after study is showing that older people are happier than the mid-dle-aged, and happier still than younger people,” says Laura Carstensen, PhD, a professor of psychology and public policy at Stanford University, where she is the founding director of the Stanford Center on Longevity.

The Paradox of AgingAt 21, a serious car accident landed Carstensen in a hospital room with three elderly women who were show-ing the ill effects of being unable to care for themselves. This first inkling of what it was like to be old set her on a career that examined aging. Along the way, she discovered something called the paradox of aging—that older people often have a better sense of well-being than everyone else.

From her work, Carstensen and her colleagues developed a theory as to why that might be. Socioemotional selectiv-ity means that as you grow older, and recognize that you are getting closer to the end, you focus on what matters now instead of the long-term goals that occupy younger people.

“As a result, older people find life less stressful, they worry less about the small stuff, they don’t get as angry, they don’t linger over negative feelings as much, they are better at reconciliation, and although they can be sad, they are better at accepting it,” Carstensen says.

The Secret: Fewer, Closer RelationshipsA primary way older people demonstrate their focus on the now is by replacing a larger number of casual relationships with fewer, closer ones. They winnow out the people they used to think they had to tolerate, whether they liked them or not—people, perhaps, who could ben-efit them careerwise or socially. And with decreasing pressure to make every decision with an eye to the long term, they develop a more positive outlook.

The golden years, of course, are not all golden, and happiness does not con-tinue to grow into extreme old age. As people pass 70 or so, and illness, infir-mity, and, for some, loss of social status and declining bank accounts begin to take their toll, the happiness curve lev-els off and then heads down.

“But it never gets back to the level of younger people,” Carstensen says.

In fact, she says in her book, A Long Bright Future: Happiness, Health, and Financial Security In an Age of Increased Longevity, that “despite being flush with youthful vigor and opportunity, twenty-somethings are the most depressed and stressed out of any age group.”

Happy Elders = Happy SocietyAs advances in science and technology continue to increase life expectancy and the age of the population (by 2030, the U.S. will have more people over 65 than under 15), one intriguing aspect of the happiness of older people is the effect it could have on society as a whole.

What if, as Carstensen suggests, that to help solve problems facing us on a national or even global scale, our

society makes use of an ever-increasing segment of the population—one with a lifetime of experience and knowl-edge, that doesn’t anger easily, doesn’t stress over the small stuff, and is good at reconciliation?

The answer, she said, at a TEDxWomen talk she gave in 2011, is that we could have a better society “than we have ever known.”

And wouldn’t that make everybody happy? n

SPRING 2015 17

FdVVSP1500_14-21_You_Part2.indd 17 10/20/14 12:44 PM

The Ups of AgingWho says old age has to be a downer? There are plenty of positives to all those birthdays.

“You’re not tied to things that hold you back, like the need for success or others’ approval,” says psychotherapist Patricia Rickenbaker of Beaufort Memorial Sea Island Psychiatry. “You have learned to take things in stride and not get bogged down in the little aggravations of life.”

In our younger years when we’re busy with life, we often override our body’s needs and warnings. “You have the time now to go to the doctor when you’re sick or rest when you’re tired,” Rickenbaker says.

Sure, you may have some physical challenges, but that doesn’t mean you can’t remain active and engaged. Reach out to old friends. Make new ones. You’ve got time to socialize now. Enjoy it!

website

Staying Active as We AgeNeed an excuse to get out of the house and make new friends? Studies show social interaction can help you stay sharp and healthy and may even ward off dementia. For tips on how to stay socially active, go to bmhsc.org/themorethehealthier.


Blueprint for a Second act

You really can turn back the clock on your health, even in middle age

The study, which appeared in the American Journal of Medicine, found that just four years after middle-aged people adapted four specific healthy lifestyle habits, the risk of cardiovascular disease was reduced by 35 percent and mortal-ity by 40 percent. And the benefits didn’t depend on gender, age, race, socio-economic status or a history of high cho-lesterol levels, diabetes or heart disease.

Of course, breaking the habits of a lifetime, even when you know they are bad for you, is no easy thing. In part, that’s because habits can be triggered by external cues you are not even aware of. For instance, when you turn on the TV, habit might tell you it’s time for a snack, whether you’re hungry or not.

With the exception of giving up smok-ing, the changes King and his fellow researchers monitored were modest. Along with not smoking, newly adopted habits included eating five or more serv-ings of fruits and vegetables daily, exer-cising a minimum of 2½ hours a week and maintaining a body mass index of 18.5 to 30. Yet six years later, only 8.4 percent of the study subjects had maintained the habits.

Virginia University Department of Family Medicine.

King says less than 10 percent of middle-aged Americans follow healthy lifestyle patterns that include exercise, eating plenty of fruits and vegetables, maintaining a healthy weight and not smoking.

Small Changes, Big DifferencesThere is good news, though. The study shows that boomers are smoking less than their parents did and are less likely to suffer from emphysema or have a heart attack. And another study King co-authored found that adapting healthy lifestyle habits in middle age can have a tremendous impact in a short time.

“What we discovered is that you can turn back the clock, and you can do it at any age; it’s never too late to start,” King says.

But who spends an entire lifetime following that path? Not baby boomers, it turns out. Although they are living longer, the generation born in 1946 through 1964 (the first of them turned 65 in 2011) is less healthy than their parents were at the same stage in life.

Boomer Lifestyle: Not What You Think According to a study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine, baby boomers, compared with the previous generation, exercised significantly less, were more obese, did more of what was categorized as “moderate drinking” and had higher rates of chronic disease and disability.

“It’s ironic, because boomers think of themselves as living a more healthy lifestyle, but we don’t see it among patients,” says study co-author Dana E. King, MD, chairman of the West

It seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? Eat your veggies, watch your weight, exercise regularly and don’t smoke, and you likely will have fewer health problems and live longer.

FINDING HEALTH

SPRING 201518

Never Too Late“It may be some people don’t change because they believe that by middle age the damage has been done and there is nothing they can do to fix it, and it may be that the public health message isn’t reaching those who most need to hear it,” King says.

The “turning back the clock” study showed that people less likely to adopt a healthy lifestyle in middle age included men, African-Americans, people with lower incomes, and individuals with a history of hypertension or diabetes.

So, if you are a baby boomer in any of those groups, or if you haven’t been eating your vegetables, taking your walks, watching your weight, or staying away from the smokes, consider yourself messaged. nph

oto

by

corb

is/a

llo

y

Adopting an exercise routine and other lifestyle changes can reduce your risk of heart disease.

SPRING 2015 19


Change for good Ready to get off the couch and give up the chips and soda? While you may be motivated to improve your health, it’s best to start off slow and make one life-style change at a time, says Kimberly Yawn, Beaufort Memorial’s LifeFit Wellness Services manager.

“Making multiple changes at once can be overwhelming,” Yawn says. “You’re better off taking one step at a time and gradually building up to your goal.”

Instead of working out for 30 min-utes five days a week, start exercising three days a week. As you become consistent with that schedule, add another day to your training. Once you’ve made exercise part of your rou-tine, tackle another lifestyle change.

“If you drink regular soda, switch to the diet version of your favorite beverage,” Yawn says. “Then wean yourself over time to a healthier alter-native like water or skim milk.”

CALL

Toss Those SmokesNeed help kicking the habit? Sign up for Freedom from Smoking, a smoking cessation program offered at Beaufort Memorial’s LifeFit Wellness Services. For more informa-tion, call 843-522-5570.


pho

to by g

etty/burazin

FINDING SUPPORT

A unique aspect of caring for Alzheimer’s patients, says dementia care expert Peter Rabins, MD, a geriatric psy-chiatrist and the author of The 36-Hour Day: A Family Guide to Caring for People Who Have Alzheimer Disease, Related Dementias, and Memory Loss, is that at some point almost all caregivers become frustrated, even angry, which leads to the guilt.

Guilt Fix No. 1: Be the Decider “Caring for Alzheimer’s patients can force the caregiver to make decisions, about driving, cooking and finances,

for example, that the person with the illness would have made for them-selves were they well,” Rabins says. “This is often upsetting for the person with the illness and induces guilt in the caregiver.”

What a caregiver must realize, he says, is that those sometimes-difficult substitute decisions, if they protect the person with the illness and others from harm, are the right decisions.

Guilt Fix No. 2: Lower Expectations A key to avoiding frustration and anger, Rabins says, is to accept that changes in behavior, as difficult as they may be to deal with, especially when they involve the loss of social skills and social graces, are caused by the disease, and are not the person’s fault.

“You’ve got to have realistic expecta-tions,” he says. “You’ve got to accept

The elephanT in The Room:

GuilT 5 ways to overcome the self-reproach almost universal

among Alzheimer’s caregivers

There’s nothing easy about dealing with Alzheimer’s. But if you are a home caregiver, one of the biggest challenges is the guilt you will almost certainly feel.

SPRING 201520

PHO

TO B

Y G

ETTY

/KO

ND

ORO

S ÉV

A KA

TALI

N

that what a loved one could do yesterday they may not be able to do today, and what they can do today they may not be able to do tomorrow.”

GUILT FIX NO. 3: It’s OK to LieA common source of guilt is lying in order to calm a person with Alzheimer’s. For example, a caregiver might say that a mother is away for the weekend and will be back on Monday, when she died many years ago.

“If the person with dementia is clearly unable to understand the ‘truth,’ and that is distressing them, then I believe ‘lying’ is justifi able, if other approaches fail,” Rabins says.

Other approaches, he says, might include discussion, redirection or dis-traction, such as asking the person to name his mother’s best quality.

GUILT FIX NO. 4: It’s Not OK to Argue Strategies should not, however, include arguing. “Argument implies there is a reasoned discussion. But if a person has lost that ability due to dementia, then it is not a useful approach,” Rabins says.

Caring for a friend or family member with Alzheimer’s is, for most people, an act of love. But as the disease pro-gresses, the ways that love is recog-nized, appreciated and expressed are altered, he says. Many patients, for example, develop signifi cant impair-ment in language, which makes them unable to understand verbally what is being communicated.

“Touch, tone of voice, and facial expression (and) body language become alternate ways to let a person know they are loved,” Rabins says.

GUILT FIX NO. 5: Give Nursing Homes a ChanceFor many families, the previous four issues pale next to the question of when is the right time for a person with Alzheimer’s to go into a nursing home.

“It is an incredibly hard decision for many people, and there is no one indicator as to when the time is right,” Rabins says.

He has observed that families usu-ally wait longer to make the decision than they should. There comes a time, he says, when physical impairment or needs that can’t be met by a home care-giver make the move necessary.

A positive note, though, is that people with Alzheimer’s often do a little bet-ter when they go into a long-term care facility because they are getting physi-cal care they couldn’t recieve at home. Also, relieved of the responsibility for day-to-day physical care, loved ones often fi nd they are better able to pro-vide the personal, loving interaction that is so important, too.

For anyone newly faced with car-ing for a family member or friend with Alzheimer’s, all of this can seem over-whelming. Just remember, Rabins says: Make every decision an act of love, and it will probably be a good one. �

SPRING 2015 21


Battle Burnout with a little help from Your friendsCaring for a loved one with Alzheimer’s can be rewarding and stressful all at once.

“The emotional experiences involved with providing care can strain even the most capable person,” says social worker Peggy Hitchcox, Beaufort Memorial’s Memory Center navigator. “Caregiver stress is one of the biggest reasons people with the disease enter nursing facilities.”

Symptoms of stress include anxiety, depression, disturbed sleep, headaches, digestive prob-lems, fatigue and mood swings.

To battle burnout, make changes in your care routine, enlist the help of friends and fam-ily, tap into community resources or hire an aid. Also, talk with a professional counselor who can help you evaluate your situation.

CALL

Don’t Forget!Beaufort Memorial Memory Center offers help to dementia patients and their caregivers. To schedule an assessment and gain access to a network of service providers and dementia care organizations, call 843-707-8833.


THEGOINGTHROU GH

MOTI ONSMOTI ONSMOTI ONS

THROU GH

MOTI ONSSPRING 201522

Our joints endure a lifetime of bending, twisting and rotating. Here’s how to keep them in top shape BY KIMBERLY OLSON

THROU GH

MOTI ONSOur joints endure Our joints endure Our joints endure a lifetime of a lifetime of a lifetime of bending, twisting bending, twisting bending, twisting and rotating. and rotating. and rotating. Here’s how to keep Here’s how to keep Here’s how to keep them in top shape them in top shape them in top shape BY KIMBERLY OLSONKIMBERLY OLSON

THROU GHTHROU GHTHROU GH

MOTI ONSMOTI ONS

W ithout your joints, you wouldn’t be able to walk, stand or sit. And you cer-

tainly couldn’t tackle complex tasks like buttoning a shirt, tex-ting or busting out a killer dance move at your granddaughter’s wedding. More than 200 joints connect your bones, and despite their usefulness, they’re easy to take for granted—that is, until

they get stiff or achy. As you journey through life,

the pressure you put on your hardworking joints adds up. But that’s hardly an excuse to plop on the couch and throw your feet up. “Joints are happiest when they’re moved a lot,” says Karen M. Sutton, MD, a sports medicine phy-

sician and fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. So staying active—without overdoing it—is the best strategy for keeping your joints gliding smoothly.

SPRING 2015 23

PREGN

ANT PH

OTO

BY THIN

KSTOCK; BO

Y PHO

TO BY G

ETTY/PHO

TOSIN

DIA

Getting in the Game As kids leave toddlerhood behind, many graduate from playtime to organized sports, ramping up the impact on their joints. During their growth spurt, which will continue through their teens, their joints are the healthiest they’ll ever be. But that doesn’t mean the younger set is invincible, even if they are dashing around the house in a superhero cape. At both ends of their long bones, kids have growth plates—areas of growing cartilage—that are vulnerable to fractures. Pint-sized soccer, basketball and volleyball players may develop a pain-ful bump below the knee, called Osgood-Schlatter disease. Growth-plate injuries are also common in football, gymnastics, biking and skateboarding.3WHAT YOU CAN DO: “We encour-

age children to be active, but playing the same sport year-round puts the joints at increased risk of injury,” Sutton says. “So if they play one sport for two to three seasons, they should play a diff erent sport the other seasons.”

Limber BeginningsIt’s hard to imagine not having joints, but that’s how we begin. An embryo’s legs are solid and unbending. Then, at eight to 12 weeks, those legs start to indent, gradually forming the knee and hip joints. Fetal joints go through some pretty awkward positions in the womb—and bend even more as the baby travels through the birth canal—so infants have the sort of fl exibility that would put a Cirque du Soleil performer to shame. That mobility stays with them through their toddler years.

SPRING 201524

PHO

TO B

Y TH

INKS

TOCK

Teen KneesIn adolescence, the growth plates become solid bone. But now, the ligaments—bands of tissue that connect bones—become the weak link. “We each have two menisci [cushiony cartilage pads] in our knee joints, and they start to lose blood supply around age 18, increasing the risk of injury,” Sutton says. Because of girls’ wider hips, the thighbone takes a sharper angle from knee to hip, making the knees especially vulnerable. It may not be fair, but female athletes in jumping or pivot-ing sports like bas-ketball are up to 10 times more likely than males to tear their anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a major knee component.3WHAT YOU CAN DO: Teens

who are physically active reap the rewards—a boost in the blood supply to their joints and greater joint lubrication. Teenage athletes should also condition their muscles for better joint sta-bility. “As girls move into puberty, the muscle mass around their joints doesn’t keep up with their growth as well as it does in boys, so even if they’re playing soccer 20 hours a week, we encourage them to put in some extra time to do strength and conditioning training for injury prevention,” Sutton says.

STRATEGIES FOR JOYFUL JOINTSYour joints, like any hardware, get worn with use. But developing a few healthy habits can help safe-guard them.

LIGHTEN THE LOAD If you’re over your ideal weight, slimming down can make every step that much gentler. “Every 1 pound you take off of your body is actually 4 pounds (of pressure) off your knees, as you’re doing your daily activities,” says Karen M. Sutton, MD, a sports medicine phy-sician and a fellow of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons.

KEEP MOVING Getting regular activity increases your range of motion and reduces infl ammatory markers in your blood, like c-reactive protein, which signal unhealthy changes. “It’s important to get some extra movement, even if it’s just walking,” Sutton says. “Instead of having somebody bring the paper in for you, you walk to get the paper. If you’re going out for dinner, park a few blocks away and walk there. Over time, that helps increase the fl ex-ibility and lubricating factors of the joint, which in turn protects the cartilage.”

STAY STRONG Strengthening the muscles around the joints is important—building your quadriceps and hamstrings, for example, helps stabilize your knees. “I equate the joint to a growing sapling, with support strings to hold it straight,” Sutton says. “The muscles are like those support strings.”

But don’t stop there. Research shows that it’s also important to develop your overall strength, which includes working your core, glutes and pos-terior muscles. “Maybe you’re stretching on a Bosu ball, so you have to hold your ankle and your core still,” Sutton suggests. “Or you’re doing pushups with your feet on an exercise ball. Anything that adds a little balance training is good for the joints.”

EAT SMART A growing body of research shows that a diet high in fruit, vegetables, grains and beans can prevent arthritis or alleviate its symptoms.

MIND YOUR POSTURE Slumping puts stress on the spinal and shoulder joints and can damage them, so get into the practice of sitting and stand-ing up straight. You’ll look better, too!

SPRING 2015 25

PHO

TO BY TH

INKSTO

CK

Watch Your Back The spine consists of 26 bones that reach from the base of the skull to the pelvis. As we enter our 50s, the spinal column tends to narrow and put pres-sure on nerves in a condition called spinal stenosis, which causes back pain or numbness in the legs or buttocks. 3WHAT YOU CAN DO: If symptoms are mild,

therapies like acupuncture, physical therapy or steroid injections can provide relief

and get you back in the swing of things. For more severe cases,

your doctor might recommend surgery. Many patients

can benefi t from minimally invasive

procedures per-formed through tiny incisions.

Staying Fluid After 40Into our 40s and 50s, the fi rst few steps in the morning may be a bit stiff . And while osteoarthritis often makes an appearance now, a healthy lifestyle can go a long way toward quelling it. As metabolism gets sluggish—particularly for women, who are undergoing hormonal shifts—it’s important to be vigilant about staving off excess pounds that put more pressure on the joints. 3WHAT YOU CAN DO: “If you watch what you’re eating, are at a good

weight and do lower-impact exercises to keep the joints moving without put-ting a lot of force on them, you can help prevent or at least delay the onset of arthritis,” Sutton says. If you do develop arthritis, take heart: Modern therapies may allow you to participate in activities that wouldn’t have been possible just 25 years ago.

Grown-up JointsBy our 20th birthday, our joints have seen plenty of action. We’ve taken about 35 million steps, the equivalent of crossing the United States six times. In our 20s and beyond, the blood supply to the joints drops further, and we con-tinue to lose joint-lubricating synovial fl uid.

In our 30s, our shock-absorbing cartilage starts to wear down. The cartilage under the patella (knee-cap), for example, pays the price of years of squatting, bending, and walking up and down stairs. “When we start out, the cartilage is like a beautiful ice rink surface before the Olympics,” Sutton says. “But as we play sports and get into our 20s to 40s, a few peewee teams have played on the rink, and then professional hockey teams like the Bruins are playing on it. So it wears out with age.”3WHAT YOU CAN DO: Keep

moving! It might be tempting to be sedentary during the week and then transform into a weekend warrior—but that’s asking for trou-ble. Regular strength and conditioning training keeps the joints healthiest. In case of knee pain, a therapy called visco-supplementation—medication that’s injected into the knee—can protect cartilage and pro-vide relief.

SPRING 201526

PHO

TO B

Y TH

INKS

TOCK

Shoulder to ShoulderEntering the senior years, tears in the rotator cuff —the group of muscles and tendons around the shoul-der joint—become common. The rotator cuff gets less blood supply as you age, so when even micro-scopic injuries happen, the tissue can’t repair itself as it once did. About 30 percent of people in their 60s have some sort of rotator cuff tear, and that number shoots to 50 to 60 percent for people in their 80s. These injuries, which might go unnoticed in the early stages, are especially common in factory workers and anyone who regu-larly pulls down with their arms.

3WHAT YOU CAN DO: Regular shoulder exercises can help prevent rotator cuff tears. If a tear happens, it may start out small and worsen over time, occasionally developing into an irreparable problem. “For somebody who has an active lifestyle, we would recommend surgery to decrease the rate of progression,” Sutton says.

Senior Strength As you start thinking about retirement, it’s important to stave off osteoporosis (bone loss), which can set the scene for fractures around the joint. Two million broken bones a year in the U.S. are related to osteoporosis. Years of exercise, proper nutrition, and habits like avoiding smoking and going light on alcohol and caff eine will now pay big dividends.

3WHAT YOU CAN DO: Continue weight-bearing activities and muscle strengthening. Your doctor can give you advice about your diet and whether you might benefi t from calcium and vitamin D supplements. Women older than 65 and men older than 70 should get a bone-density scan, the National Osteoporosis Foundation says. Keep avoid-ing smoking and limiting alcohol and caff eine consumption. �

SPRING 2015 27

FdVVSP1500_22-27_Joints.indd 27 10/20/14 12:53 PM

Joint Replacement SuRgeRy: Better than everYou only buy shoes in your size, of course. But there was a time when joint replacements came in only a few sizes, so the fit might have been less than per-fect. Fortunately, that’s changed. Today, joint replacements are customized by size, making them perform better and last longer.

“The computer determines the optimal alignment,” says Kevin Jones, MD, a Beaufort Memorial orthopedic sur-geon specializing in minimally invasive total hip and knee replacement surgery. “You get a better range of motion, and the knee will last longer because it’s balanced bet-ter, so there’s less wear on

the implant.”While modern joint replacement sur-

gery has improved dramatically, it’s not the end-all to a good outcome. “Surgery

is only the first step,” says Andrea Sadler, Beaufort Memorial physical therapist and orthopedic care coor-dinator. “Patients have to be com-

mitted to the physical therapy part of the process to get the maximum results they desire. A lot of it is up to them.”

CLASS

Get the 411 on Joint ReplacementAttend one of Beaufort Memorial’s free informa-tional sessions to learn about knee and hip anatomy, signs and symptoms of joint-related problems and treatment options to relieve or resolve joint pain, led by BMH physical therapist Andrea Sadler. Call 843-522-5585 to sign up for the class.


YOUR LAST CHAPTER:

EXPRESSINGEND-OF-LIFE

WISHES

PHO

TO BY G

ETTY/JAMIE G

RILL

SPRING 201528

It’s something

that no one wants

to think about, but everyone needs to: the end BY COLLEEN

RINGER

SPRING 2015 29

What is an advance directive? Is that like a living will?

Advance directives are legal documents that outline end-of-life requests, and a living will is a type of advance directive. In a living will, you clarify the types of life-prolonging medical treatments you would or wouldn’t want, such as artifi-cial feeding, resuscitation and mechani-cal breathing, if, for example, you were in a coma.

There are two other types of advance directives: a medical power of attorney (your healthcare proxy), in which you choose who will make your healthcare decisions for you if you can’t; and an optional do-not-resuscitate (DNR) order, in which you can request that

CPR not be performed if your heart stops or if you stop breathing. Completing all three documents— or two if you do want to be resuscitated—covers the bases.

Sounds confusing. Where do I start?Begin by completing a living

will. “Ask yourself what your goals are,” Morris says. “To live as many days as possible, no matter what? Think about what’s valuable to you and what’s intol-erable in terms of quality of life.” You won’t be able to cover every situation, but consider, for instance, under what circumstances and for how long you would want to be on a ventilator. The same goes for artificial nutrition and

Y ou’ve seen it played out in movies—siblings squabbling over end-of-life decisions for their parent, a family bick-ering about what to do after one of their own has been in a serious accident. Unfortunately, those scenes aren’t

only reserved for the big screen. What would happen to you if you couldn’t speak for yourself? In those moments, decisions about your future may fall to the people who rush to your bedside. Make their job easier and ensure your wishes are respected by leaving them a road map, says Virginia Morris, author of How to Care for Aging Parents. The best way to do that? Advance directives. Here’s how to get your affairs in order.

pho

to by g

etty/tamara staples

SPRING 201530

hydration, meaning nutrients and fluids are given through an IV or a stomach tube. Put all of these things into your living will.

Next, think long and hard about whom you want to designate as your healthcare proxy. “It’s not necessarily the first person you think of—it might not be your spouse or sibling,” Morris says. “You want someone who will step in and say, ‘Why are we doing this? I don’t think this is what she wanted.’”

Is there a form I can fill out?Yes, each state has specific

advance directive documents. If you spend time in more than one state, complete forms for both. You can search online for your state’s forms or go to your local library. Although some states require that the forms be notarized, you won’t need a lawyer. Give a copy to your healthcare proxy and to your doctor—and keep the originals some-where safe, but not in a safe deposit box where they might be hard for others to get to in an emergency.

I’m done now, right?Technically, yes, but you

shouldn’t stop there. “If you’re just signing the document and that’s it, it’s almost like you did nothing,” Morris says. “What you need to do is have con-versations with people, especially your

healthcare proxy, about what you want and don’t want. When your loved one is standing there and a doctor is saying we can do this or that, their instincts will kick in and they’ll say yes—even if it’s not what you would have wanted.”

Start this tough conversation as early as possible—ideally, when it’s theoreti-cal and not when you’re in the hospital. Then, when you’re in a tough situation, you can pick up the discussion where you left off.

What if a medical breakthrough changes the game?

Whether it’s because a groundbreaking treatment has been discovered or you’ve simply changed your views, you can redo your advance directives at any time (be sure to destroy the old copies). But this is also why it’s important to have a healthcare proxy. This person can make decisions based on the situation and how he or she knows you feel about life, pain, suffering and death. n

SPRING 2015 31

FdVVSP1500_28-31_LivingWills.indd 31 10/20/14 1:08 PM

Caring for future genera-tionsOnce you’ve made decisions about life and death, you’ll need to consider how your estate will be divided up among your nearest and dearest. Have you thought about giving back to the place that cared for you—your local not-for-profit hospital? A planned or estate gift to the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Foundation can take many forms, such as naming the BMH Foundation in your will or as a beneficiary of your retirement account or life insurance policy. These legacy gifts help support, sustain and improve the hospital for future generations.

CALL

Gift PlansSetting up a charitable gift annuity or charitable remainder trust is a great way to support the BMH Foundation. To learn more about the advantages of both, call 843-522-5774.


333

10 THE QUICK LIST

TAKEAWAYS FOR LIFE AFTER 50

WANT MORE HEALTHY IDEAS? Check out our summer issue, focusing on building a healthy mind.

1 In the United States, seniors 65 and older will outnumber children

15 and younger by 2030.

2 Focus on the present and on fewer, closer rela-

tionships, and you’ll likely grow happier as you age. 4 Only 10 percent

of middle-aged Americans regu-

larly exercise, follow a nutritious diet, maintain a healthy weight and refrain from smoking.

5 Look on the bright side: The risk of death from

heart disease is 30 per-cent lower for optimists than for pessimists.

6 Write a living will and choose a medical power of attor-ney now to help

your loved ones understand your wishes later.

7 You really can turn back the clock: Four

years after middle-aged people adopted healthy lifestyle changes, their risk of mortality dropped 40 percent.

Stay slim. For every pound you lose, you take 4 pounds of pressure off your knees.

Add weight training to your exercise routine. In the U.S., 2 million broken bones are related to osteoporosis annually.

9 Alzheimer’s caregivers, remember that diffi cult decisions help protect your loved one from harm.

8

Healthy habits don’t have to be complicated. Walk to a shop for your morning coff ee instead of making a cup at home.

10

PHO

TOS BY TH

INKSTO

CK

SPRING 201532

As a busy horticulturist, Deb Hopewell has never had any trouble getting in the recommended 30 minutes of

exercise a day to keep healthy.“I’m outside all the time helping peo-

ple with their gardens,” she says. “I do a lot of weeding, pruning and planting.”

She also practices yoga a couple of times a week, swims laps in the neighbor-hood pool and walks her coon hounds, Archie and Rowdy, a mile or two twice a day.

When it comes to her diet, she’s just as careful to follow the nutritional guidelines, avoiding junk food and processed meals.

“We don’t eat out of a box,” says Hopewell, who lives on Fripp Island with her husband, Gary Braatz. “We cook at home every night.”

The picture of health, Hopewell never imagined at the age of 57 she’d end up in the ER with a heart attack.

Fripp Island horticulturist Deb Hopewell was the picture of health when she suffered a massive heart attack at the age of 57. After an emergency cardiac intervention, she’s back digging life

Heartyand

Hale

After her heart attack, Deb Hopewell was quickly able to return to her work as a horticulturist.

SPRING 2015 33

“I didn’t have high cholesterol or high blood pressure, and I have only a mini-mal family history of heart disease,” she says. “There were no red flags.”

Recognizing the SignsBut on the afternoon of Oct. 29, 2013, Hopewell came home from work and began having weird symptoms. Her upper left shoulder ached as if she had pulled a muscle.

“I started sweating profusely, like someone had turned the hose on me,” she recalls. “My shoulders across my back started cramping, and my jaw was aching.”

When she turned an ashen gray, her husband told her he thought she was having a heart attack.

“I had lunch that day at a new restau-rant,” Hopewell says. “I was hoping it was just food poisoning.”

Not wanting to take any chances, her husband took her to the Fripp Island fire station just two minutes from their house. Paramedics gave her aspirin and nitroglycerin, hooked her up to an EKG and called an ambulance.

Hopewell was rushed to Beaufort Memorial Hospital’s emergency room and within 30 minutes was taken to the cath lab for an emergency cardiac intervention. Tests confirmed she was having an ST elevation myocardial infarction, or STEMI, the most danger-ous type of heart attack.

Her left interior descending artery, ominously referred to as the “widow maker,” was nearly 100 percent blocked, keeping blood from flowing to her heart. BMH cardiologist Stuart Smalheiser, MD, was called in to perform an emergency percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) to open the occluded artery.

“I remember complaining that my shoulders ached,” Hopewell says. “Dr. Smalheiser kept telling me, ‘You have had a heart attack.’ I was in total denial.”

Lifesaving InterventionDuring a PCI, a catheter with a balloon at its tip is inserted into the blocked artery and then inflated to push away the clot and restore blood flow to the heart. After the balloon opens the blocked artery, a stent is placed in the area of the clot to stabilize the artery and prevent it from closing again.

Only 25 percent of U.S. hospitals have PCI capability. Beaufort Memorial had received state approval to per-form the lifesaving procedure just four months before Hopewell’s heart attack. Prior to June 2013, BMH patients hav-ing a STEMI were given clot-busting medication and airlifted to a hospital in Charleston or Savannah approved to perform the emergency intervention.

For patients like Hopewell who live 30 minutes from the hospital, it wasn’t always possible to get them into a cath lab for the procedure within the 90-minute practice guidelines established by the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association.

Timely intervention is critical with STEMIs because the longer it takes to clear the clot and restore blood flow, the greater the amount of damage to the heart muscle. Yet fewer than half of STEMI patients in the U.S. undergo PCI within the recommended time frame.

BMH’s door-to-balloon time averaged 57 minutes in the first quarter of 2014, beating the national average by seven minutes and the AHA’s guidelines by 33 minutes. Hopewell was treated even faster. Her blocked artery was open 47 minutes after she arrived in the ER.

Making a Difference“The program has been more success-ful than anyone ever thought it would be,” says Smalheiser, one of three BMH interventional cardiologists trained to perform the procedure.

CALL

A $60 Screening Package That Could Save Your LifeThe heart is only part of the cardiovascular system, which includes the entire circulatory system. Vascular disease is the No. 1 killer of both men and women, and if untreated can cause a stroke. For $60, Beaufort Memorial offers a complete vascular screening package: carotid artery scan; abdomi-nal aortic aneurysm scan; and ankle-brachial scan. Appointments for the screening, which is not covered by insurance, are available in both Beaufort and Bluffton. Call 843-522-5635 to schedule.

“I started sweating profusely, like someone

had turned the hose on me,” she recalls. “My

shoulders across my back started cramping,

and my jaw was aching.” When she turned

an ashen gray, her husband told her he

thought she was having a heart attack.

SPRING 201534

In the first 14 months the program was in operation, the cardiologists per-formed 50 emergency PCIs on patients having STEMI heart attacks. All of the interventions were successful.

Last fall, BMH received prestigious national awards for its cardiac care from the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology Foundation.

“I can’t say enough about the care I received at Beaufort Memorial,” Hopewell says. “Dr. Smalheiser was so kind. And the ICU staff was incredible. They treated me like a princess.”

To reduce the chance Hopewell will have a second heart attack, Smalheiser prescribed drug therapy that includes a baby aspirin every day, along with blood pressure and cholesterol medication.

Am I HAvIng A HeArt AttAck?Despite what you see on TV, heart attacks don’t always begin with sudden, crushing chest pain. Some people experience only mild symp-toms; others none at all. Be aware that women’s symptoms may differ from men’s.

It’s important to know the most common symptoms and seek medical attention quickly if you think you’re having a heart attack. Warning signs can include:

• Pain or discomfort in the center or left side of the chest

• Pain or discomfort in one or both arms, the back, shoulders, neck, jaw or upper part of the stomach

• Shortness of breath• Breaking out in a cold sweat• Feeling unusually tired for no

reason• Lightheadedness or sudden

dizzinessThe symptoms of a heart attack

can vary in severity, and may come and go over several hours. Women are more likely to have shortness of breath, nausea and vomiting, unusual tiredness and pain in the back, shoulders and jaw.

If you think you may be having a cardiac event, don’t ignore it. Call 911 immediately. When it comes to heart attacks, minutes matter.

“Despite having zero or minimal risk factors, you can still have a heart attack,” says Smalheiser, of Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group. “If you take care of yourself, you will reduce the risk, but you can’t eliminate it. That’s why it’s so important to be vigilant about symptoms, even if they’re atypical. Recognizing the warning signs and getting to a hospital quickly could save your life.” n

SPRING 2015 35

C indy Jamison wasn’t scared of having a hysterectomy. The 50-year-old was more than happy to have her uterus

removed, along with those pesky fi broids that had been causing her stomach pain for nearly two years.

What she dreaded was the recovery after surgery.

“I’m a busybody,” she says. “I don’t like sitting still.”

So when her OB-GYN, Gregory Miller, MD, suggested she have a new minimally invasive surgery that off ers a remarkably short recovery time, she jumped on the idea.

Cindy Jamison lures resident ducks to her pond with a handful of food.

Cindy Jamison lures

Single-site hysterectomy leaves 50-year-old Hampton patient with no visible scar

WITHOUTA TRACE

GONE

SPRING 201536

The advanced procedure—a robot-assisted single-site hysterectomy—can be performed in less than two hours. More important, it requires just one small incision in the umbilicus, speed-ing up healing and improving the cosmetic outcome.

“I was interested in the faster heal-ing,” Jamison says. “Less scarring wasn’t as important to me.”

But she never expected the results to be so phenomenal.

“You can’t even see the scar,” the Hampton resident says. “You’d never know I had surgery.”

At the Forefront of TechnologyMiller and three other BMH physicians are the first surgeons in the Lowcountry to offer the cutting-edge procedure.

Typically, robot-assisted laparoscopic hysterectomies require three or four incisions in the abdomen.

“With each incision, there is a risk of developing an incisional hernia, infection or bleeding,” says Miller, a board-certified OB-GYN with Beaufort Memorial Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialists. “With only one incision,

there is less risk of complications, less pain, faster recovery and bet-ter cosmetics.”

Miller and his colleagues received training last year to perform single-site hysterectomies using special instru-mentation created for the da Vinci Si robot. Two Beaufort Memorial general surgeons also are using the single-site technology to remove gallbladders.

“Because the instrument is not wristed like those used in multiport surgeries, it’s technically a little more difficult to perform,” Miller says of the procedure. “But we wanted to be able to offer our patients an option that potentially provides better results.”

The One and OnlyJamison went to see Miller last sum-mer after her primary care doctor found fibroids in her uterus.

“I had friends who had fibroids taken out and later had to go back and have a hysterectomy,” says Jamison, who has been married 30 years and has a 29-year-old daughter. “I wanted it all done at once.”

An assistant merchandise manager at Home Goods on Hilton Head Island and an active member of Eden Baptist Church in Bamberg, Jamison opted for the single-site surgery to get back to her busy life as quickly as possible.

“Not everyone is a candidate for the surgery,” Miller says. “It can’t be per-formed on patients who are excessively obese, have scarring in the lateral spaces of the uterus or have a large uterus or fibroids.” In cases where uterine cancer is suspected, a different surgical proce-dure is generally used as well.

Jamison was a healthy weight and her fibroids were small and centrally located. The surgery went so well, she was able to go home the same day.

“I took some pain medicine that night and the next morning,” Jamison recalls. “I didn’t take it again after that. I didn’t have any pain from the surgery.”

And her stomach pains were gone.“I’m back enjoying walks with

my husband and feeding the ducks in our pond,” Jamison says. “I feel wonderful.” n

When Less Is MoreMinimally invasive surgery—already the operating room option of choice in hos-pitals across the country—continues to gain momentum with the development of new technology and cutting-edge techniques.

At Beaufort Memorial Hospital, surgeons are using the advanced da Vinci Si Surgical System to perform laparoscopic prostatectomies, offering patients excel-lent long-term results for prostate cancer. The computer-controlled robot also is being used for a number of gynecological surgeries and partial nephrectomies, an organ-sparing procedure for kidney cancer patients.

With the introduction of single-site instrumentation, BMH general surgeons are now able to remove a patient’s gallbladder through one small incision in the belly button. Most recently, OB-GYNs began using the specialized instrumentation to perform single-site hysterectomies.

“The technology is only going to improve,” says OB-GYN Gregory Miller, MD, one of the first surgeons in the Lowcountry region to perform single-site hysterec-tomies. “In a couple of years, all of the surgical instruments for single-site surgery will be wristed, making it possible to perform more complicated procedures.”

APPOINTMENTS

BMH’s Single-Site Surgery TeamBeaufort Memorial’s medical staff includes four physicians trained in single- site hysterectomies. To make an appointment with Christopher Benson, MD, Gregory Miller, MD, or Claude Tolbert, MD, of Beaufort Memorial Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialists, call 843-522-7820. To reach Pat Thompson, MD, of Gynecology Associates of Beaufort, call 843-524-8151.

SPRING 2015 37

Brantley Harvey remem-bers. He remembers when, in 1962, Beaufort

Memorial was just a one-story hospital that had outgrown its space and how, as a member of the state House of Representatives from Beaufort County, he helped to put together a financial campaign to add a second story. A plaque to that effect still hangs across from the elevators by the hospital’s surgical suite.

He remembers when his youngest son, Warren, was born here and very nearly died within his first week from

juvenile dysentery. At the time, Beaufort Memorial had only a handful of physi-cians on staff, and no pediatricians. He credits Cleve Hutson, MD, and other local doctors for working with a pedia-trician from the Naval Hospital to save his son’s life.

Having been born with a heart mur-mur, Harvey remembers when Art Jenkins, MD, determined that he needed an aortic valve replacement to prevent a heart attack. He remembers when, many years later, Ralph Salzer, MD, treated him aggressively for a MRSA (methi-cillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus)

infection in his ankle. And he credits both men with saving his life.

All of which brings him to his salient point about Beaufort Memorial. “We are blessed with truly first-class medi-cal treatment here, treatment that is available when and where we need it and available to everyone, regardless of ability to pay,” he says. To preserve and protect the hospital in its mission to improve the health of our community, Harvey has become a champion of the BMH Foundation, generously supporting it and urging others to do the same.

“We’ve got to support our local hos-pital,” he emphasizes. His experience as a state legislator and as lieutenant governor instilled in him the belief that the hospital, like most public services, cannot possibly be self-sustaining with-out community support. “People have the mistaken impression that the county supports the county hospital with tax dollars, but that just isn’t the case,” he says.

In fact, BMH receives no state or county support. As a not-for-profit hospital, it reinvests any net revenue in services and infrastructure to help ensure provision of the best patient care with the most advanced technology.

Brantley Harvey rememBersA lifelong Beaufortonian makes a convincing case for support of his community hospital

Foundation-Building

With more than $20 million spent by the

hospital each year on charity and indigent

care, patient revenue alone can’t provide

everything that Beaufort Memorial needs to

stay cutting-edge in equipment and training.

That’s where the BMH Foundation comes in.

GIVE

Support the BMH FoundationTo find out how you can support the Foundation, visit bmhsc.org/bmh-foundation.

SPRING 201538

But with more than $20 million spent by the hospital each year on charity and indigent care, patient revenue alone can’t provide everything that Beaufort Memorial needs to stay cutting-edge in equipment and training. That’s where the BMH Foundation comes in.

Over the years, Harvey has seen the hospital grow from that first hand-ful of physicians who treated his infant son to a staff of over 1,600 employ-ees, including nearly 200 physicians and 450 nurses. He’s seen the hospital expand its services to multiple locations and add interventional cardiology, com-prehensive cancer care and a Level II nursery. And he’s seen the hospital take

“We are blessed with truly first-class medical treatment here, treatment that is available when and where we need it and available to everyone, regardless of ability to pay.”—Brantley Harvey

new approaches to improving the health of the community with innovative well-ness, outreach and mobile services.

But he knows Beaufort Memorial can’t do it alone.

“The hospital couldn’t do all that it does without funds from the

Brantley and Alice Harvey at Marshlands

Foundation,” Harvey says. He and his wife, Alice, have become active support-ers of and advocates for the hospital—and they hope that many more in their community will recognize the value of Beaufort Memorial Hospital and join them in that support and advocacy. n

SPRING 2015 39

FOUNDATION-BUILDING

At its annual meeting in November, the BMH Foundation elected Chris Assaf to its board of trustees. Upon graduation from college, Chris joined the textile fi rm Milliken and Company as an industrial engineer and advanced to the position of Southeast regional sales manager. After marrying her husband, Rich, she became the sales manager for the CBS affi liate in Columbus, Ga., and later launched Advantage Marketing, an advertising agency. Chris developed advertis-ing and public relations campaigns for a number of companies before her retirement from the agency in 2004. As a founding co-chair of the successful Fripp for a Cure, she has helped to raise nearly $200,000 for the Keyserling Cancer Center over the last fi ve years.

Liz Malinowski and Sherry Hirsch were thanked for their board service of nine and four years, respectively.

Foundation offi cers elected for the coming year are Bill Harvey, chair; Hugh Gouldthorpe, vice chair; Arthur Levin, secretary; and Paul Mannheim, treasurer.

Chris AssafChris Assaf

BMH FOUNDATION BOARD UPDATES

ANOTHER SUCCESSFUL VALENTINE BALL IS ON THE WAY!The Beaufort Memorial Hospital Foundation’s 26th Valentine Ball will be tremendous fun! A special thank-you to our co-chairs, Dr. and Mrs. Andy Beall and Dr. and Mrs. D.J. Christian, and to the host of volunteers who have done so much to make “Winter Garden” a sparkling success. Since its inception in 1990, the Valentine Ball has raised over $4.4 million for Beaufort Memorial. Proceeds from this year’s event are expected to exceed $200,000. They will go toward the much-needed expansion of the hospital’s inten-sive care unit.

For great photos of the evening, please visit valentineball.org.

SPRING 201540

THIS JUST INGOOD-FOR-YOU NEWS, CUES AND REVIEWS

APP

Slot Those ShotsFind it hard to keep up with child and adult immunization schedules? Download the CDC Vaccine Schedules app, which updates with new guidelines automatically, at cdc.gov/vaccines.

MAI

N P

HO

TO B

Y G

ETTY

/JES

SICA

PET

ERSO

N; D

OG

PHO

TO B

Y TH

INKS

TOCK

BAD DOGSee Spot run. See Spot jump. See Spot let you get a good night’s sleep. Two out of three ain’t bad.

While dogs may encourage healthy activities such as walking, they may also be wrecking your sleep at night. Ten percent of sleep center patients reported sleep disruption caused by pets—up from 1 percent in 2002, a recent study shows.

Top pet disturbances are snoring, whimpering, wander-ing, whining to go outside and medical needs.FEMININE

FATALE?There’s no fury like a woman scorned. And her blood pressure? Oy vey.

Negative social interactions may cause more than just a “talk to the hand” type of tension, according to a study in Health Psychology. They may also cause hypertension, commonly known as high blood pressure.

In the study, women ages 51 to 64 who reported having too many demands placed on them or being criticized, disappointed or aggravated with others were more likely to develop high blood pressure. The dynamic did not hold true for women 65 and older or men.

This Mother’s Day, you might ask the kids to swap the fl owers for a home blood pressure monitor.

SPRING 2015 41

THIS JUST INGood-for-you news, cues and reviews

Shady NumberSSpring kick-starts months of gardening and outdoor runs. And while popping a baseball cap on your noggin offers a bit of protection from the sun, it’s not helping as much as you might hope.

A recent article in the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology exam-ines the actual sun-protection factor of common shade devices.3Shade umbrella: SPF 43 Wide-brimmed hat: SPF 2 for the

chin; SPF 7 for the nose3�NarroW-brimmed hat: SPF 1.5

for the nose; minimal to no protection elsewhere3 makeup fouNdatioN Without

SuNScreeN: SPF 2 to 63�treeS: SPF 4 to more than 50,

depending on density of leavesBottom line: Even shade-seekers need

to commit to sunscreen. Most experts recommend broad-spectrum SPF 30.

website

how clean is Your air?visit stateoftheair.org to see whether your city ranks among the most polluted or the cleanest cities in america based on ozone and particle pollution.

Pho

to By g

Etty/thE iM

AgE BAn

k

Answer: OrAnge juice. A 1-cup serving of oJ has more vitamin c, nearly double the potassium and 2 grams less sugar than apple juice, according to the USdA national nutrient database. For the healthiest choice, eat a whole orange or apple for more fiber and less sugar.

Orange Juice Vs. apple Juicewhich drink is healthier?

SPRING 201542

SMOKE-FREE FACTS

20 MINUTES

after quitting: Heart rate and

blood pres-sure drop.

2WEEKS

to 3 months: Lung func-

tion increases.

CLEA

NIN

G PH

OTO

BY

GET

TY/B

LEN

D IM

AGES

; VID

EO G

AME

IMAG

E BY

TH

INKS

TOCK

TRUE OR FALSEVideo games may cause osteoarthritis.

TRUE As if violence, antisocial behavior, fatigue and even seizures from fl ashing lights in video games weren’t scary enough, it appears we can add osteoarthritis to the list of risks of playing video games.

Excessive gaming may lead to osteoarthritis, particularly in boys, a recent study shows. One reason? The weight of and the button placement on game controllers were designed for adult use, thus a child’s developing joint structure may be damaged by the overuse of joints.

SPRING-CLEANINGIf you know a young mom who’s the queen of clean, let her know—gently—that she might be creating a royal mess.

A home that’s too clean may leave infants vulnerable to a higher incidence of allergies or asthma later in life, recent research suggests. The fi ndings support the idea that squeaky-clean surroundings don’t allow the body to develop the ability to fi ght off allergens.

So, while spring-cleaning may be good for the soul, it also turns out that a little dirt won’t hurt.

1YEAR:

Additional risk of heart disease

is half that of a smoker.

2TO5YEARS:

Stroke risk can fall to that of a nonsmoker.

Source: American Cancer Society

SPRING 2015 43

FdVVSP1500_41-43_ThisJustIn_rev.indd 43 10/20/14 1:12 PM

BREAKING GOODAll work and no play makes Jack a dull boy—literally. Creativity takes a hit, as do productivity and alertness, when you eat lunch at your desk or blow off breaks at work. In fact, studies show that workers who remain sedentary throughout the day are impairing their health.

Try these tips:3H ave walking meetings.3�Do simple, regular stretches

or squats in your office or cubicle.3�Use the restroom on a

different floor, and take the stairs to get there.

website

Get on It!Need a daily dose of motivation to stay healthy? Check out Beaufort Memorial’s “Health Tip of the Day.” You’ll find it at beaufortmemorial.org/livingwell.


pho

to by g

etty/e+

The TruTh By Stephanie R. ConneR

A tickle in your nose. An itch in your throat. A cough here, a sneeze there. Sore, red,

watery eyes. you know the signs. It’s allergy season.

but seasonal allergies are more than just an annual nuisance. they occur when exposure to allergens causes your immune system to overreact and produce symptoms ranging from minor (a runny nose) to major (wheezing and shortness of breath). think you know your seasonal allergies? Read on to find out.

True or false:Allergies last for life.

FAlse. “that is a common miscon-ception,” explains Janna tuck, MD, a spokeswoman for the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology. “but allergies do come and go.”

Allergies tend to first appear in child-hood, she says. In that case, don’t expect

spring is in the air—and

if you have allergies,

you’re not excited.

The TruTh AbouT

Allergies Ah, spring. The season of new

grass, flowering trees—and watery eyes. Learning fact from

fiction about seasonal allergies can help relieve the misery.

SPRING 201544

to outgrow them. Conversely, you might not even experience allergies until you’re an adult, depending on when you’re first exposed to certain allergens.

but, as tuck notes, allergies are more related to genetics and environment than age.

you have a 70 percent chance of hav-ing allergies if both your parents have allergies, according to the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America. but since you can’t change your genetic code, the better option is to find out what you’re allergic to.

then, you can find ways to alter your environment or discuss treatment options with your doctor.

TRUE OR FALSE: Allergies occur only in spring.

FAlse. there’s not any one season for allergies.

In spring, people have to contend with pollen, a common allergen. but for people allergic to grass, summer is prime allergy season. Meanwhile, fall brings ragweed, and winter’s dampness can trigger mold allergies. Depending on your immune system, you could be affected by allergies for one season—or all year.

TRUE OR FALSE: eating local honey helps prevent allergies.

FAlse. Some experts say the theory behind this form of immunotherapy is sound—the idea being that the honey contains small amounts of local pollen, which can help the body become less sensitive to it.

“but there’s no scientific proof that eating local honey does anything,” tuck says.

one reason, experts say, could be that the pollen that triggers allergies isn’t the same kind of pollen bees carry.

TRUE OR FALSE: Moving to the desert can alleviate allergies.

True—And FAlse. If you’re aller-gic to pollen, you’ll be allergic to pollen anywhere. but if you move to the desert, where there’s less of the stuff in the air, you’ll likely experience an improvement in symptoms.

but beware, tuck says. the desert is not an allergen-free environment, and you can find you’re allergic to something in the desert air, too.

TRUE OR FALSE: lifestyle changes can relieve allergies.

True. Start with environmental changes. Staying inside on high-pollen-count days and keeping doors and win-dows closed can make a huge difference.

A number of effective medication options are also available, tuck says. And allergen immunotherapy, also known as allergy shots, can work as a long-term solution, gradually allowing your body to develop a tolerance to the allergen.

“For the most part, allergies and asthma aren’t life-threatening, but they do affect how people enjoy their lives,” she adds. “good control of your symptoms can really make a difference in how you feel.” n

SPRING 2015 45

Can allergies Kill?A food allergy can be deadly, but sea-sonal allergies are often accepted as just a nuisance. After all, they aren’t dangerous, right?

Not so fast, says Janna tuck, MD, a spokeswoman for the American College of Allergy, Asthma & Immunology.

Allergies are closely associated with asthma, which can vary in its severity, including cutting off airways.

“If it’s not controlled, asthma can become quite severe,” tuck says.

“And severe asthma is a very dan-gerous disease process that can be life-threatening.”

In fact, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America reports that more than 3,300 people die from asthma annually and that many of these deaths are avoidable with appropriate treatment.

So, don’t simply ignore or accept allergies. talk to an allergist to better understand your triggers and what you can do about them.

VIDEO

Asthma, explainedMost people know that asthma impairs breathing. But that’s not all. This video from the American Lung Association explains the condition. Visit lung.org/assets/video/what-is-asthma.swf.

HEALTHY BUYS BY ALISSA M. EDWARDS

GOLDEN GIFTSOur top gift picks for the stylish and savvy seniors in your life

Bette Davis famously once said, “Old age ain’t no place for sissies,” and she was right—just ask anyone older than 65. Though aging

comes with challenges, gifts for the older set don’t have to look as if they came from a medical supply shop. Today’s stylish and savvy seniors deserve better. We share our top gift picks for the mature folks in your life. �

CONAIR TOUCH CONTROL LIGHTED ROUND MIRROR IN POLISHED CHROME, $50 Where: conair.com Why: With 1x or 7x magnifi ca-tion, this stylish vanity mirror has fog- and glare-free viewing and three levels of lighting to make applying makeup or shaving easier.

PUZHEN YUN FIVE-SENSE AROMA DIFFUSER, $369 Where: puzhen.comWhy: Leaving candles burning is a dan-gerous idea for seniors. This attractive, remote-control-operated essential-oil dif-fuser plays soothing music for a safer way to add fragrance and ambience at home.

FULCRUM 12-LED LANTERNA TOUCH LAMP IN BRUSHED SILVER, $30 Where: Various online retailers Why: This contemporary, cord-less touch lamp provides diff used, portable light for navigating the dark. Great as a table lamp that can be used for nighttime trips to the bathroom. Also available in brushed copper.

SPRING 201546

GEMSTONE AND PEARL EYEGLASS NECKLACE, $125Where: strandsjewelry.comWhy: Misplacing glasses is a common problem. This pretty 22-inch-long eye-glass necklace is an attractive way to keep them close and can be adjusted to wear as a bracelet.

TEMPUR-PEDIC CLOUD MOC, $59Where: tempurpedic.comWhy: With patented TEMPUR insoles, a soft fl eece lining and a nonslip, durable sole, these slip-pers can be worn indoors or out.

HOMEDICS JET SPA ELITE FOOT BATH WITH HEAT, $40Where: homedics.comWhy: Massaging bubbles target the heels, arches and toes to rejuvenate tired feet while a toe-touch control and spinning pedi-cure center cleans, exfoli-ates or massages with no bending required.

TOESOX HALF-TOE BELLA GRIP SOCKS, $16Where: toesox.comWhy: Go one better than barefoot. These colorful socks feature exposed toes to improve balance and patented grippers to reduce the chance of slipping at home.

SPRING 2015 47

HEALTHY BUYS

AMEFA CURVED ERGONOMIC DINING UTENSILS SET, $50 Where: elderluxe.comWhy: Thoughtfully designed lightweight utensils with thick, ergonomic handles and special curves make dining easier for those with arthritis and who have a limited range of motion in their hands or wrists.

UNGER NIFTY NABBER PLUS, $20Where: Various online retailers Why: This handy 36-inch pickup tool can snatch up objects as light as a penny or as heavy as 8 pounds to help seniors avoid painful bending or dangerous climbing to get what they need.

LEVO G2 DELUXE STAND, $190 Where: bookholder.comWhy: This adjustable stand lets seniors use a tablet, book (with optional accessory) or e-reader hands-free, bring-ing it as close or far away as needed for a comfortable reading experience.

OXO 15-PIECE EVERYDAY KITCHEN TOOL SET, $100Where: oxo.comWhy: This set features soft, easy-grip handles to avoid slips and a large capacity holder for keeping kitchen essentials within arm’s reach.

SPRING 201548

KINDLE PAPERWHITE, $119Where: amazon.comWhy: With a high-resolution display that reads well in dark or daylight without glare or eyestrain, this e-reader off ers millions of books and periodicals and lets the user magnify text magnify text and read easily with and read easily with one hand.

RADIUS ERGONOMIC GARDEN TOOL SET, $40Where: radius.gostorego.comWhy: This sleek, multifunction gardening tool set minimizes hand and wrist stress for maximum comfort while working in the garden.

SPRING 2015 49

FdVVSP1500_46-49_HealthyBuys.indd 49 10/20/14 1:29 PM

The GifT of Good CompanyFor older adults no longer able to take care of themselves, moving in with their children can be a difficult transition, especially if they’re relocating to a new town. Beaufort Memorial care coordinator Joy Corley found several ways to keep her father engaged when he moved into her home.

“I’d pull out photo albums and listen to him talk about old times,” she says. “He had a lot of vivid memories of serving during World War II.”

Corley also made it part of their daily routine to watch the news and two of her father’s favorite game shows. “We talked

about events in the news and played the games together,” she says. “It helped keep his mind active.”

Corley’s father, who died at the age of 90, was 85 when he moved to Beaufort. Although back home he went out for breakfast with friends three times a week, he was reluctant to participate in a similar outing with a group of local men.

“He didn’t want to start over,” Corley says. “I think it would have been better if he had made the move when he was more independent and able to make new friends on his own.”

website

Get Your Head in the GameLearning new things can help seniors stay mentally active as they age. Find free online brain games designed specifically for seniors by visiting games.aarp.org today.


pho

to by g

etty/ the Im

age ban

k

When it comes to under-standing health woes, the Web can be both a great

tool and a source of irrational fear. We’ve all been there—one minute you’re googling symptoms, the next you’ve diagnosed your condition as a rare and deadly disease. We’ve collected a hand-ful of symptoms that can cause confu-sion, and analyzed each. So before you start panicking about your health, read on for a dose of reality.

QUIZ by EllEn Ranta OlsOn

Freak Out Or Chill Out?Take this quiz to learn how savvy you are about confusing health symptoms

Frequent trips to the bathroom: a sign of kidney stones or a urinary tract infection?

SPRING 201550

Q you’ve noticed in the past couple of days that you’re making more trips to the bathroom than normal—and

it burns when you urinate. even though you feel the urge to go frequently, you pass only small amounts each time. IS IT: Kidney stones or a urinary tract infection?

URINARY TRACT INFECTION (UTI). While both UtIs and kidney stones can cause pain during urination, stones are often accompanied by severe pain in the back and the ribs, as well as nausea and vomiting. the more benign UtI typically causes problems related only to urina-tion. Don’t put off seeing your doctor if you have UtI symptoms. Short-term antibiotics usually end the infection quickly. Recurring or chronic infections require more tests and treatment.

Q after a bout of what you thought was the common cold, your little one is plagued with a bright red face

and body rash. you aren’t sure whether she’s allergic to her cold medicine or it’s something viral.IS IT: An allergic rash or fifth disease?

FIFTH DISEASE. Fifth disease, which gets its name from its place on the list of standard rash-causing childhood dis-eases, is characterized by a low-grade fever, headache and coldlike symptoms followed by a bright red rash, particu-larly on the cheeks (hence the nick-name “slapped cheek disease”). Caused by human parvovirus b19, the disease isn’t preventable but isn’t particularly worrisome either, typically requiring no treatment.

Q Spring has sprung, but even with the sun shining and the flowers blooming, you can’t muster any

get-up-and-go. your energy level is low, you’ve put on a few pounds, and you’re down in the dumps. IS IT: Depression or hypothyroidism?

BOTH. admittedly, this is a bit of a trick question. hypothyroidism, a condition defined by an underactive thyroid, can cause depression, so if you’re feeling blue for two weeks or more, talking to your doctor is the best place to start. the thyroid gland regulates your body’s metabolism, so hypothyroidism can affect mood, weight, energy, skin and muscles among other things. a blood draw makes for an easy test, and hypo-thyroidism is treatable with medication.

Q yoga pants are usually your go-to for weekend attire, but for the past few days, vaginal itching is making

anything you wear uncomfortable. you also have abnormal discharge, and inter-course is painful. IS IT: A yeast infection or cervicitis?

YEAST INFECTION. the combination of itching, pain and discharge is a classic sign of a yeast infection. If you’ve never

had one before, it’s best to see a doctor to rule out anything more serious, but otherwise, over-the-counter treatments are usually just fine. Cervicitis, or cervix inflammation, also is common and might produce vaginal discharge and pain-ful urination, but itching is not among the symptoms.

Q every day for the last week, you’ve woken up at 3 a.m. with a sharp pain on the left side of your head

from your neck to your temple. the pain lasts for more than an hour.IS IT: A cluster headache or a brain aneurysm? A CLUSTER HEADACHE. Symptoms of a brain aneurysm are a sudden and unusually severe headache along with vision impairment, nausea, vomiting and loss of consciousness; these are signals to call 911 immediately. Cluster headaches typically occur at the same time every day and affect one side of the head. While painful, they are not life threatening. avoiding triggers such as alcohol and smoking may help, and your doctor can prescribe medications to alleviate the pain. n

website

Don’t Be an E-HypochondriacSure, it’s great to be informed about your health, but be careful where you go searching. A good place to start is MedlinePlus, which features a wealth of trustworthy health information verified by the National Institutes of Health. Visit nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus.

SPRING 2015 51

ILLUSTRATIO

N BY TH

INKSTO

CK

AT A GLANCE

SMOKE ALARM

Every day, more than 3,200 American teens smoke their fi rst ciga-

rette. Recent federal antismoking ads appeal to adolescent vanity with a message about nonsmok-ers being better athletes, having smoother skin and being more kissable. Refraining from smoking can also do wonders for their bottom line.

$8.4 billionThe tobacco industry

spent $8.4 billion on ads and promotions in 2011 that encouraged smoking. That would buy a Mac Mini for

1.4 million families.

$60,700 covers the fi rst year of

treatment for lung cancer, after adjustments for patient deductibles and coinsurance

expenses. That would send a student to Harvard for a year, including room

and board.

$35 billionThe combined profi ts

of America’s six biggest tobacco companies was $35 billion in 2010. That

would buy everyone on the planet 7 to 12 pounds of rice.

$12.1 billion was spent on lung

cancer care in the U.S. in 2010, equal to buying new homes for 79,605

American families.

SPRING 201552

Sources: CDC, National Cancer Institute, American Lung Association, World Lung Foundation

1 DAY

1 WEEK

1 MONTH

1 YEAR

5 YEARS

10 YEARS

20 YEARS

40 YEARS

THE COST OF SMOKINGWould you rather smoke for a year—or take a 10-day Caribbean cruise? Here’s a look at what a teen could buy other than a daily pack of cigs. $

6.36

. 7

dow

nloa

ds

on iT

unes

$44

.52.

Tank

of g

as

$19

0.80

.Pa

ir o

f Air

Jor

dan

snea

kers

$2,

289.

10-n

ight

Car

ibbe

an c

ruis

e fo

r tw

o in

a d

elux

e ba

lcon

y su

ite

$11

,448

.Su

per

Bow

l wee

kend

for

four

, inc

ludi

ng

hote

l, m

eals

and

tick

ets

to th

e ga

me

$22

,896

.Fo

rd M

usta

ng—

all c

ash

$45

,792

.Bu

y a

cond

o in

Haw

aii (

10%

dow

n)

$91

,584

.Bu

y a

34-f

oot s

ailb

oat

and

say

good

bye

to c

ivili

zati

on

SPRING 2015 53

MAIN

PHO

TO BY G

ETTY/MO

MEN

T; SECON

DARY PH

OTO

S BY THIN

KSTOCK

IN THE MARKET BY LEXI DWYER

3 WAYS TO COOK

SPINACHPopeye knew a good thing when he saw it: Low in calories but high in nutrients, this leafy, dark green does a body good

The “prince of vegetables” and the “captain of leafy greens” was how Ibn al-Awwam, a 12th-century writer and agriculturist, described spinach. And Torey Jones Armul, a registered dietitian nutritionist and an Academy of

Nutrition and Dietetics spokeswoman, agrees. “Spinach is the ultimate power food, since it’s packed with vitamins and minerals but very low in calories, fat and sugar,” she says.

One cup of this green contains half our recommended daily allowance of vitamin A, which helps with vision, and twice the allowance of vitamin K, an aid in blood clotting as well as building healthy bones and tissue. Other star nutrients include folate, which helps make new cells and is essential for pregnant women; iron and vitamin C. A mix of raw and cooked spinach is ideal; heating the leaves can make some components easier to absorb. Try these three preparations to be sure you’re getting enough:

2 SAUTÉ ITThink of sautéing as

the little black dress of spinach recipes: classic and eff ortless. Simply heat olive oil in a pan on high, add the leaves and toss with tongs until they’re bright green. Season with lemon juice and your favorite herbs or spices.

1 BLEND A SMOOTHIEExperiment to fi nd

your favorite combination, but a good ratio is 1 cup of raw spinach (or a half-cup frozen), 1 cup of fruit, 1 cup of milk or juice, and about a half-cup of ice. Tell your kids the drink is named “The Green Monster,” and they’ll slurp it down.

3 MAKE CUPCAKESPurée 1 cup of

spinach in the blender or food processor with a few tablespoons of water (it should look like baby food). Add it to your favorite cake batter, and other than the green tint, your kids will be none the wiser. �

SPRING 201554

website

Play with Their FoodSend kids to choosemyplate.gov/kids, where they can check out nutrition-focused games (Nutrition Sudoko) along with fun videos (first lady Michelle Obama demonstrating The Evolution of Mom Dancing).

SPINACH SAVANTFRESH VS. FROZEN Fresh and frozen spinach are similar nutritionally, though raw leaves typically work better on sandwiches and wraps, and the frozen variety is easier to work into a baking or smoothie recipe. in late fall or early winter, when fresh spinach isn’t as widely available, it’s more economi-cal to buy the frozen stuff.

WASH IT WELLspinach is notoriously sandy. remove the stems and run the leaves under the faucet in small batches or soak them in a large bowl or basin of water. if soak-ing, you may need to change the water and repeat. before cooking, taste a leaf to check for lingering grit and rewash if necessary. if you’re serving a prewashed spinach mix to a child, a pregnant woman or anyone with a compromised immune system, armul suggests washing the leaves in a salad spinner one final time as an extra precaution against food-borne illness.

TALKIN’ TEETHafter munching on spinach salad, have you noticed that your teeth feel as if they have a coating? chewing the leaves releases a harmless compound called oxalic acid, which is responsible for this sensation.

SPRING 2015 55

HEALTH BY THE NUMBERS

FOCUS ON FERTILITY

Sources: American Society of Reproductive Medicine, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, Human Reproduction

20%

of U.S. women

have their fi rst child after 35.

13%

Cigarette smoking causes up to 13% of infertility in women.

15%

Couples in their 30s have a 15% chance of conceiving each month.

1 OUT OF 5 full-term pregnancies resulting from

fertility treatments produces multiple births.

A third of couples have fertility prob-

lems when the woman

is older than 35.

CAUSES OF INFERTILITY

28% Female fallopian tube

problems

19% Female ovulation disorders 27%

Male sperm problems

16% Male tube blockages

$12,400The average cost of an in-vitro

fertilization cycle is $12,400.

An average couple with no fertility issues requires six to 12 months of active eff orts

before achieving a pregnancy.

Between 1982 and 2010, infertility rates among married women decreased from 8.5% to 6%.

SPRING 201556

FdVVSP1500_56_ByTheNumbers.indd 56 10/20/14 1:37 PM

Improve Your oddsThinking about starting a family? Now you have another excuse to lose those extra pounds.

“Women’s fertility is very sensitive to body mass index,” says Claude Tolbert, MD, of Beaufort Memorial Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialists. “If you’re extremely thin or obese, it can affect your ability to conceive. Ideally, your body mass index should be no less than 19 and no greater than 25.”

You’ll also want to kick those bad habits to optimize your fertility. That includes smoking, recreational drug use and drinking more than two alcoholic beverages a day. You should also limit the amount of coffee you drink to one or two cups a day.

Tolbert recommends having a preconcep-tion checkup six months before you want to get pregnant to get you started on prenatal vitamins. The folic acid in the vitamins can lower the risk of certain birth defects by more than 70 percent.

Once you’re ready to start trying, deter-mine when you’re most likely to conceive. Most women ovulate 14 days before their period starts. You are most fertile the six days leading up to ovulation. If your periods are irregular, ovulation predictor kits can help determine the time in the menstrual cycle when getting pregnant is most likely.

APPOINTMENTS

Pre-Pregnancy CheckupBefore you start trying to conceive, schedule a checkup with an OB-GYN to be sure you’re in top form to get pregnant. Call Beaufort Memorial Obstetrics & Gynecology Specialists at 843-522-7820 to make an appoint-ment today!


The BMH Foundation gratefully acknowledges the following tribute gifts received July 31, 2014, to Oct. 15, 2014. To make a tribute gift, please call 843-522-5774 or go to beaufortmemorial.org and click on “Make a Gift.”

TRIBUTESIN HONOR OFBMH 2nd Floor Team

Mrs. Martha D. HokeBMH Cochrane Heart Center Staff

Mr. and Mrs. Charles H. GrishamMs. Jessica Bonilla

Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. ZurakowskiMr. Thomas W.L. Cameron

Mr. Charles E. HicksDr. Majd Chahin

Mr. and Mrs. William PrainMrs. Carole Ann Converse

Mr. Charles J. KarmendyDr. Meghan Cummins

Mr. and Mrs. Alan L. SchusterMr. Buddy Franklin

Mrs. Patricia D. FranklinDr. Kurt M. Gambla

Mr. and Mrs. Dana M. DudleyDr. John William Gray, III

Dr. Elinor GrayMr. and Mrs. William B. Harvey III

Siblings of Bill HarveyMr. Charles Holley

Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. ZurakowskiDr. Andrea Hucks

Ms. Mary Beth DaleDr. Steven R. Kessel

Mr. and Mrs. Dana M. DudleyMs. Traci L. Ketola

Ms. Mary Beth DaleMs. Monica Richmond

Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. ZurakowskiMrs. Brittany Robinson

Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. ZurakowskiMs. Andrea Sadler

Mr. and Mrs. Richard A. Zurakowski

Dr. Marshall S. ShookMrs. Gladys E. Sutton

Richard K. ToomeyMr. and Mrs. Ramond P. Mecherle, Jr.

Ms. Cassie WattsMr. and Mrs. Richard A. Zurakowski

IN MEMORY OFMs. Helen Brainard

Mr. Paul BrainardMr. James K. Brown

Lori and Daniel MockMr. Joe Connelly

Ms. Cynthia A. AimarDr. Karen M. Carroll and Mr. Lowell CarrollMr. and Mrs. Ramond P. Mecherle, Jr.Ms. Alice B. Moss

Ms. Martha Louise DalyMs. Alicia Taylor and Mr. Ben Powell

Dr. James HallBMH Medical Staff Mr. Dean J. HewittMr. Robert PinkstonMr. and Mrs. Robert D. Purcell, Jr.

Mrs. Martha K. HenryMrs. Joyce Foley

Commander James J. HillMr. and Mrs. Ramond P. Mecherle, Jr.

Herbert and Harriet KeyserlingMrs. Madeleine Kalb

Ms. Caroline LutzDr. Page Miller and Mr. Charles Davis

Mr. Dave RadkeMr. and Mrs. Alan M. Cooper

Mr. John TrouwMs. Edna G. MillerMs. Beverly Thiel

Mr. Gail WredeMs. Barbara D. Gish

Jo Anne Tudor remembers when waiting for mammogram results meant days of anxiety. But she also remembers when the Women’s Imaging Center changed all that.Now, Jo Anne receives the most advanced diagnostics and same-day test results from a program designed specifi cally to offer comfort, convenience and peace of mind. And she’s the fi rst to tell you: living well means living worry free.

Wonder, not worry.

Health & Medicine

Beaufort Memorial Hospital Living Well- Spring 2015