I was recently at a health fair and the Aging Matters booth was next to the Cape County Health Department booth. They were giving flu shots and people were lining up. Already we are in flu season, I thought the last flu season just ended. 

For many people the flu is only a minor inconvenience; some coughing, sneezing, body aches for a bit and they move on. For some, particularly seniors the flu can be much worse.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention it is estimated that between about 70 percent and 85 percent of seasonal flu-related deaths have occurred in people 65 years and older and between 54 percent and 70 percent of seasonal flu-related hospitalizations have occurred among people in that age group. Influenza is often quite serious for people 65 and older. The best protection from the flu is the flu shot. It is quick, relatively painless and Medicare Part B covers the cost at 100%. Getting a flu vaccine also protects those around you.

Other ways to protect yourself from the flu include washing your hands often, try to avoid sick people, avoid touching your eyes, nose and mouth and everyone cover your nose and mouth when you sneeze or cough. Even with all the precautions if you begin showing symptoms of the flu, go see your doctor!

Another vaccine that is important for seniors to get is the pneumococcal vaccine. Speaking from personal experience, pneumonia is awful. The pneumococcal vaccine not only protects against pneumonia, but also meningitis, bronchitis and a bloodstream infection called bacteremia among other infections. This shot is usually administered only once to those 65 and older and Medicare Part B usually pays 100% of the costs. 

Finally, the shingles vaccine; anyone who had chickenpox is at risk of getting shingles. If you know someone who had shingles, you know how painful they can be. Shingles cause painful blisters that usually crust over in 7-10 days. The pain and discomfort of shingles is extreme for most people. There are two types of shingles vaccines and you need to speak with your doctor to see which is best for you. Medicare Part D covers the vaccine so cost will vary by plan.

Now you must know that I am not a doctor and every situation is different. Please speak with your doctor to determine what vaccine is right for you and when is the best time to get them.

An ounce of prevention in this case is really worth a pound of cure. Your health is something that needs protected and vaccines can help. 

For questions on what Medicare will cover, please call Aging Matters 573-335-3331 or 800-392-8771.

Saint Francis Healthcare System proudly welcomes board-certified gastroenterologist Thomas E. Kelly, MD, as a Saint Francis Medical Partner. He joins the expert team at Cape Gastroenterology Specialists. Kelly specializes in advance endoscopy. 

Together, they will provide the region with expert care for gastrointestinal conditions, including abdominal pain, biliary disorders, Crohn’s disease, gastrointestinal bleeding, gastroesophageal reflux, liver disorders, pancreatic disease, peptic ulcer disease, ulcerative colitis and other digestive disorders. 

Kelly earned his medical degree at Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. He completed an internship and residency at Los Angeles County and University of Southern California Medical Center and a gastroenterology fellowship at Virginia Tech Carilion Clinic in Roanoke, Virginia.

For more information or to schedule an appointment, please visit www.sfmc.net. 

Saint Francis Healthcare System is guided by our mission to provide a ministry of healing, wellness, quality and love inspired by our faith in Jesus Christ. Founded by Franciscan Sisters in 1875, our priority remains the same: serve all who enter with dignity, compassion and joy. Serving nearly 713,000 people across Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, our focus is on patients' outcomes, experience and value.

Anchored by Saint Francis Medical Center, a 308-bed tertiary hospital, and supported by nearly 2,800 employees and more than 250 providers in eight communities, the Healthcare System is a driving economic force in the region. Major services include the Cancer Institute, Emergency and Level III Trauma Center, Family BirthPlace and the region's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Heart Hospital, Neurosciences and Orthopedics.

The Three Rivers College Board of Trustees has appointed Dr. Tim Hager of Van Buren to fill the vacancy created with the passing of Randy Grassham. The appointment was confirmed at the Board of Trustees meeting in September. Hager will serve as the trustee for Sub-District Two until April 2020, when an election will be held to fill the remainder of Grassham’s term.

 “I’m honored to be selected as a trustee for Three Rivers. I’m looking forward to working with Dr. Payne and the other members of the board,” said Hager. “Three Rivers plays a vital role in our community, and I hope my participation on the board will assist the College in continuing to fulfill its mission.”

“Randy Grassham was a valued member of the Board of Trustees since 2009, when he was appointed to fill the term of his father, James Grassham, who had been a Board Member since 1982,” said Dr. Wesley Payne, President of Three Rivers College. “We’re fortunate to live in a community with highly qualified people who were willing to step into Mr. Grassham’s role in representing the people of Sub-District Two. I’m confident Dr. Hager will do an excellent job serving the College and his district.”

After 30 years in public education, Hager recently retired as Superintendent of the Iron County C-4 School District. Hager also spent 25 years as an adjunct professor of Public Speaking for Three Rivers College. He is an alumni of Three Rivers, along with his wife, Lana, and daughter, Brittany, who was an Academic All-American Softball player. His daughter, Macy, is currently a freshman at Three Rivers.

Three Rivers College is committed to contributing to the quality of life in Southeast Missouri with quality, affordable higher education opportunities and community services that support and encourage the economic, civic, and cultural vitality of the region. For more information about college and workforce programs and upcoming events, visit trcc.edu.

 

 

Pictured: Dr. Tim Hager has been appointed to a seat on the Three Rivers College Board of Trustees. Hager will serve as the trustee for Sub-District Two until April 2020, when an election will be held to fill the remainder of the late Randy Grassham’s term.

Saint Francis Healthcare System is pleased to welcome nurse practitioner Natalie Frazier-Cook, APRN, FNP-BC, to Immediate Convenient Care. 

She has been with Saint Francis for 22 years and has served in many patient care roles and most recently served as the manager of Training and Development. 

"I'm excited to be back in patient care and working to improve our community's health and wellness," says Frazier-Cook. 

She earned her Bachelor of Science in Nursing and her Master of Science in Nursing from Southeast Missouri State University.

Nurse practitioners are nurses who have undergone advanced training and are able to diagnose and treat illnesses and injuries, order lab work and imaging tests, and write prescriptions. They can manage many health conditions, teach health promotion and help patients with disease prevention.

Saint Francis Healthcare System is guided by our mission to provide a ministry of healing, wellness, quality and love inspired by our faith in Jesus Christ. Founded by Franciscan Sisters in 1875, our priority remains the same: serve all who enter with dignity, compassion and joy. Serving nearly 713,000 people across Missouri, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee and Arkansas, our focus is on patients' outcomes, experience and value.

Anchored by Saint Francis Medical Center, a 308-bed tertiary hospital, and supported by nearly 2,800 employees and more than 250 providers in eight communities, the Healthcare System is a driving economic force in the region. Major services include the Cancer Institute, Emergency and Level III Trauma Center, Family BirthPlace and the region's only Level III Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, Heart Hospital, Neurosciences and Orthopedics.

I consider Mike Buhler a friend and he has now joined the ranks as a fellow cancer survivor as well.  He recently wrote this article for the newspaper he works at, the Powell Tribune in Wyoming and I wanted to share his recent health scare, but also his talent as a journalist.  Thank you Mike for sharing with our readers, Dee Loflin, ShowMe Times manager/editor.  

Being in my mid-40s and overweight, concerns about my health — especially the risk of heart attack and stroke — are to be expected, especially since I was diagnosed with atrial fibrillation last summer.

However, my most recent health scare had little to do with my cardiovascular system, but another word that begins with C: cancer.

For quite some time, I had a weird-looking mole on my upper back, between my spine and my right shoulder blade. And while I meant to get it looked at, I kept putting it off for various reasons — though inheriting my grandmother’s dislike of going to the doctor might have had something to do with it.

Ironically, it was an abscessed tooth in early August that caused me to get it checked out. 

Like I said, going to the doctor is not one of my favorite activities, so for me to break down and go to the doctor over an aching tooth should tell you how much it hurt. And for some reason, I decided that while I was there, it was time to get that weird-looking mole checked out. When the nurse saw it, she told me to come back in two weeks to have it removed.

Two weeks later (Aug. 16), I did just that. I walked from the Powell Tribune up the street to Heritage Health and had an area the size of my thumb tip cut off of my back. When it was done, I walked back to the office and then headed to the Powell High School gymnasium to visit with the PHS volleyball coach, since I am covering the Lady Panthers volleyball team this fall.

I wish I could say that was the end of it. But not quite.

Six days after having that “weird-looking mole” cut off of my back , Heritage Health called me to let me know my results from the biopsy of the weird-looking mole were back. Since I was quite busy that day and the next one, I chose the morning of Friday, Aug. 24, to get my results.

I don’t remember what all Dr. Juanita Sapp told me, but I do remember the two words that counted: malignant melanoma. Needless to say, I was upset — while skin cancer is one of the most survivable forms of cancer, melanoma is the most dangerous kind of skin cancer. Adding to that was that melanoma took the life of my friend Angela Pearson, the former mayor of my hometown in Missouri, at the age of 32.

Suddenly, I felt scared and alone, partially because my family and closest friends were more than 1,000 miles in the Midwest. When I was offered the opportunity to take the rest of the day off, I accepted it.

The next step in dealing with my melanoma involved going to Billings, Montana, last Tuesday — not only to have a larger area of my back cut on to make sure that all of the cancer was gone, but also to biopsy lymph nodes under my right arm to make sure the cancer had not spread. Needless to say, I was not excited, especially because I have a phobia of general anesthesia. However, the procedure went well, and I was back at my desk at the Tribune last Thursday.

The bad news is that I am still a bit sore from surgery, which is not a surprise since I have an incision the size of the palm of my hand on my upper back, not to mention a 3-inch long incision under my right arm.

But I can live with that, especially since my surgeon called me earlier this week and said that the lymph nodes were negative for cancer and that they got all of the melanoma out of my back. I was very happy, to say the least.

In closing, my bout with skin cancer is all the more surprising since I rarely get out in the sun and have seldom went shirtless since I was 16 years old. So if I can offer some advice, if you find a “weird-looking mole” or something similar on your skin, get it checked out. It might just save your life.

(Mike Buhler is a former southeast Missouri sportswriter who now lives and works in Powell, Wyoming. Reprinted with permission of the Powell Tribune)