Menopause treatment

Menopause treatment

CLEVELAND

The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is increasing for the treatment of menopausal symptoms, but often without the guidance of a clinician, according to a recent study reported in “Menopause,” the journal of the North American Menopause Society.

As a result, the authors suggest that health-care providers, particularly family medicine practitioners, need to be more aware of the various CAM therapies and take a more active role in guiding patients through their options to more safely and effectively coordinate their care.

Ongoing fear of the potential risks of hormone therapy is cited as a primary reason for the growing use of CAM among menopausal women in recent decades. Although there is an ongoing debate within the medical industry regarding the proven effectiveness of CAM alternatives, it is estimated that 53 percent of menopausal women use at least one type of CAM.

WELL certification

AKRON

The bone-marrow transplant recovery unit in Akron Children’s Hospital’s Showers Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders is comprised of the first hospital rooms in the nation to be awarded WELL Pilot Certification by the International WELL Building Institute.

The WELL Building Standard Æ is the world’s first building standard to focus on enhancing people’s health and well-being through the built environment. WELL Certification requires a passing score in each of the seven categories. The process includes comprehensive project documentation and an on-site audit to verify performance.

“Patients who have undergone bone-marrow transplants have very compromised immune systems, so anything we can do to help reduce the risk of infection and improve their quality of life is worth exploring,” said Dr. Jeff Hord, medical director of the Showers Family Center for Childhood Cancer and Blood Disorders.

The center has between 10 and 14 patients per year undergo bone-marrow transplants. Patients typically spend six to eight weeks in the hospital after a transplant.

Gold Plus award

YOUNGSTOWN

St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital has received the American Heart Association/American Stroke Association’s Get With The Guidelines Æ-Stroke Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award with Target: StrokeSM Honor Roll. The award recognizes the hospital’s commitment and success ensuring that stroke patients receive the most appropriate treatment according to the latest nationally recognized research-based guidelines.

To receive the Gold Plus Quality Achievement Award, hospitals must achieve 85 percent or higher adherence to all Get With The Guidelines-Stroke achievement indicators for two or more consecutive 12-month periods and achieve 75 percent or higher compliance with five of eight Get With The Guidelines-Stroke Quality measures.

To qualify for the Target: Stroke Honor Roll, hospitals must meet quality measures developed to reduce the time between the patient’s arrival at the hospital and treatment with the clot-buster tissue plasminogen activator, or tPA, the only drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat ischemic stroke.

‘Most Wired’ hospital

AKRON

Akron Children’s Hospital has been named one of the country’s “Most Wired” hospitals for the third year in a row.

The 2015 Most Wired/¢ survey and benchmarking study is a leading industry barometer measuring information technology use and adoption among hospitals nationwide.