WellLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingLivingBEAUFORTMEMORIAL.ORGWINTER 2017

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PLUS Anthony Anderson turned a diabetes diagnosis into an opportunity for change

ways to make your daily routine healthier and happier 32

HABIT A Force of

LUNG CANCER SCREENING SAVES SMOKER’S LIFE

HELPING SICKLE CELLPATIENTS

GI TROUBLES TAKEPATIENT FROM ERTO ICU TO SURGERY

MEET TWO OF OUR PHYSICIANS … OUT OF THE WHITE COAT See page 6.

dVVWI1799_00_Cover.indd 1 9/19/17 1:38 PM

PLAY OFFENSE.A breakthrough in breast cancer diagnosis, breast tomosynthesis, or 3-D mammography, delivers a clearer view of the breast tissue than traditional mammography alone, allowing radiologists to detect small tumors at their earliest and most treatable stages.This powerful tool is just one of the ways the Beaufort Memorial Breast Health Center is helping patients take control of their health and better their odds in the fight against breast cancer.

BEAUFORTMEMORIAL.ORG

ContentsWINTER 2017

52 Rock On Care at Beaufort Memorial Hospital

gets a drummer’s life back in rhythm.

FEATURES

10 Act 2 Black˙ish actor Anthony

Anderson expected his diabetes diagnosis, but even he didn’t know how he’d rise to the chal-lenge to get healthy.

14 You, Improved Small changes can have a big impact

on your heart health and fi tness, no matter where you start.

22 Planning for Peace of Mind If you don’t

have a plan in place in case of illness or death, don’t worry. Take action, and then you can relax.

28 Shots for Grown-ups You already

know your kids need immunizations. But guess what? You do, too.

49 Breathing Easy Low-dose

CT lung cancer screen-ing helped save Mike Binkowski’s life.

8 Ask the ExpertBMH internist Brandon McElroy, MD, off ers tips on where to get care when you're sick.

Go ahead and give cabbage a chance. PAGE 46

Stretch yourself to achieve better habits for life.PAGE 14

COVER PHOTO BY GETTY/JESSE GRANT/STRINGER; INSET PHOTO OF ANTHONY ANDERSON BY GETTY/MAARTEN DE BOER

THE BIG STORY

WINTER 2017 1

IN EVERY ISSUE 2 Opening Thoughts 3 Introductions 4 Collected Wisdom 6 Out of the White Coat 32 The Quick List 33 This Just In 38 The Truth About Opioids 40 How To: Meditate 42 Quiz: Freak Out or

Chill Out? 44 At a Glance: Strength

Training 46 In the Market: Cabbage 48 Health by the Numbers:

Cancer Death Rates 54 Foundation

Face-lifts for mac and cheese and green bean casserole.PAGE 34

We know that healing occurs in many ways: through physicians and nurses, technological advancements, prayer and companionship,

and the power of the human spirit. No doubt, we all have a role in healing, our own and that of others.

As a hospital administrator and a member of this com-munity, I’m increasingly aware of the undeniable healing connection that exists among those who provide care, those who receive it and all of the systems—medical, human and other—that support both.

As healthcare and the politics surrounding it become more challenging and complex, we as members of the healthcare collective and the community must work together more closely than ever to ensure that our role as healers is strategic, supportive and, above all, sustainable.

For nearly 75 years, Beaufort Memorial has served as this community’s source of healing, health and, often, hope. This is a role we take very seriously. So much so that remaining an independent, not-for-profit health system is among our essential goals—no small goal, but one we know we can achieve by work-ing together.

Through investments in people, innovations in care delivery, financial steward-ship and a focus on quality and safety, we will continue to grow and serve our community for years to come. But we can’t do it alone.

How we heal is not a singular endeavor, a one-way street. It’s the hospital and the community supporting each other. It’s ensuring that we invest in programs and technology that keep healthcare right here at home, and that the care we provide keeps pace with the diverse and evolving needs of a growing community.

Healthcare is changing, and so are we. But our mission—to deliver superior healthcare services and to improve the health of our community—stays the same. Because it is how we heal.

Regards,

Russell Baxley, MHAPresident and CEO

OPENING THOUGHTS

HOW WE HEALIt’s all about working together

Living Well, a subtitle of Vim & Vigor™, Winter 2017, Volume 33, Number 4, is published quarterly by MANIFEST LLC, 4110 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 315, Scottsdale, AZ 85251, 602-395-5850. Vim & Vigor™ is published for the purpose of disseminating health-related information 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 © 2017 by MANIFEST 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™, 4110 N. Scottsdale Road, Suite 315, Scottsdale, AZ 85251.

BEAUFORT MEMORIAL HOSPITALPRESIDENT & CEORussell Baxley, MHA

BMH BOARD OF TRUSTEES Terry Murray, ChairWilliam “Bill” Himmelsbach,

Vice ChairDavid Tedder, Secretary/

TreasurerAndrea Allen, MS, LMSW

Kathleen CooperMark Dean, MD David HouseStacey H. Johnston, MDFaith Polkey, MD

EX-OFFICIO MEMBERSNorman Bettle, MD, Chief of StaffHugh Gouldthorpe, Foundation ChairmanAlice Howard, Beaufort County Council Representative

BMH EDITORIALCourtney McDermott, Director, Marketing & CommunicationsSallie Stone, Editor and Marketing & Communications Content ManagerPaul Nurnberg, Photographer

PRODUCTIONEDITORIALASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Matt Morgan EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Meredith Heagney SENIOR ASSOCIATE EDITOR: Gillian ScottASSOCIATE CONTENT EDITORS: Sophia ConfortiCOPY DIRECTOR: C.J. Hutchinson

DESIGNASSOCIATE CREATIVE DIRECTOR: Tami RodgersCHIEF ART DIRECTOR: Cameron AnhaltART DIRECTORS: Andrea Heser, Molly Meisenzahl

PRODUCTIONDIRECTOR OF PRODUCTION: Laura MarlowePRODUCTION TECHNOLOGY SPECIALISTS: Marilyn Bain,

Cheri Prime

CIRCULATIONDIRECTOR OF LOGISTICS: Kalifa Konate

CLIENT SERVICESACCOUNT MANAGER: Lauren PetrickACCOUNT SUPERVISORS: Beth Doshan, Laura Ferguson

ADMINISTRATION PRESIDENT: Eric GoodstadtSVP, BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT – HEALTHCARE: Gregg Radzely,

212-574-4380CHIEF CONTENT OFFICER: Beth TomkiwVP/CREATIVE: Alejandro Santandrea

For address changes or to be removed from the mailing list, please visit mcmurrytmg.com/circulation.

Beaufort Memorial Hospital955 Ribaut Road

Beaufort, SC 29902843-522-5200

843-522-5585 – Doctor Referral Service

Notice of NondiscriminationBeaufort Memorial does not exclude people or discriminate

on the basis of race, color, national origin, age, disability or sex. Beaufort Memorial provides free aids and services to people with disabilities or whose primary language is not English to communicate effectively with us, such as

qualified sign language interpreters; written information in audible and/or electronic formats; and information written in other languages. If you need these services, contact our

Patient Advocate at 843-522-5172. ATTENTION: If you speak English, language assistance

services, free of charge, are available to you (TTY: 9-711).ATENCIÓN: Si habla español, tiene a su disposición servicios

gratuitos de asistencia lingüística (TTY: 9-711).

FALL 20172

INTRODUCTIONS

WEBSITE

Join Our Team!If you’d like to join the dedicated team at Beaufort Memorial Hospital, visit www.bmhsc.org/careers/job-openings.

INTRODUCING…The newest members of the BMH team

Julien Norton, MD Beaufort ENT & Allergy Associates has added a board-eligible ear, nose and throat specialist to its busy prac-tice. Julien Norton, MD, completed his residency in otolaryngology/head and neck surgery at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences earlier this year after earning his

medical degree from the Medical College of Georgia School of Medicine. During his graduate studies, Norton served as a student research associate at the Medical College of Georgia Otolaryngology Research Lab and worked in the Homeless Medical Clinic in Augusta, Georgia.

Allison CoppageAttorney Allison Coppage is Beaufort Memorial’s new corporate compliance and privacy officer. Before joining the hospital, Coppage served as legal counsel for Beaufort County, where her wide-ranging work included con-flict of interest and HIPAA-related cases and contract management.

The Beaufort native holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, a law degree from the University of South Carolina School of Law and a certifi-cate in healthcare compliance.

Margaret Miller, PA-CPhysician assistant Margaret Miller comes to Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group, where she is part of the multispecialty prac-tice’s gastroenterology team, after working for a year at East Cooper Coastal Family Physicians in Mount Pleasant. A magna cum laude gradu-

ate of the College of Charleston with a degree in biology, Miller served as a certified medical assistant in Summerville for a year before beginning her physician assistant studies at the Medical University of South Carolina. She graduated from the program in 2015.

Rebecca Epstein, MDFollowing completion of a glaucoma fellowship at the University of Colorado earlier this year, board- eligible ophthalmologist Rebecca Epstein, MD, has joined the staff of the Beaufort Eye Center. The graduate of Mercer University School of Medicine completed both her internship and

residency at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center. A member of Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, she was ranked third in her medical school class and named Medical Student Researcher of the Year in 2012.

Deborah SchuchmannAfter less than a year as the BMH Foundation’s director of special gifts, Deborah Schuchmann has been pro-moted to associate vice president and chief development officer at Beaufort Memorial. She succeeds Alice Moss, who led the Foundation for 30 years before retiring this sum-

mer. Schuchmann, who holds a B.S. from the University of Georgia and an MPH from Mercer University, has 15 years of experience in development. Before coming to the Lowcountry, she served as chief development officer for Macon Volunteer Clinic in Georgia.

WINTER 2017 3

COLLECTED WISDOM

The Facts on Sickle Cell Disease Parents can pass along all kinds of wonderful traits to their children. The mutation for sickle cell disease is not one of them. This inherited gene produces a defective kind of hemoglobin—the molecule in red blood cells that takes oxygen from the lungs to all parts of the body.

Shaped like a sickle rather than the usual circle, the mutated red blood cells get stuck in the walls of tiny blood ves-sels, clogging blood fl ow. They also die early, which causes a constant blood cell shortage. Patients with the debilitating disease can suff er severe joint pain, infections, organ damage and stroke.

Most patients are diagnosed at birth during rou-tine newborn screening tests. They usually begin to show symptoms around 5 months of age.

CALL

Sickle Cell Program The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control off ers health services for sickle cell patients younger than 21 years of age. For more information, call 843-525-7615.

TEAMING UP WITH A PRIMARY CARE PROVIDER Despite having painful joints, Leah-Zaire Liburd didn’t let her sickle cell dis-ease stop her from climbing trees as a kid and cheerleading in high school. But at the age of 25, after having the fi rst of her two children, the inherited red blood cell disorder began to play havoc with her health.

Every three to four months, she would become so fatigued and short of breath she would need blood transfusions to boost her red blood cell count. After four years in and out of the hospital, she decided to quit her job and focus on improving her health.

Last year, Liburd moved to St. Helena Island and began seeing board-certifi ed internist Brandon McElroy, MD, at Beaufort Memorial Lady’s Island Internal Medicine. He put her on new medication that has helped keep her hemoglobin in check.

“I had been taking a holistic approach and self-monitoring,” the 39-year-old says. “Having a primary care physician makes it easier to keep track of the disease. With a chronic condition like sickle cell, it’s really important because things can go off the rails anytime.”

MANAGING SICKLE CELL DISEASE Some 4,500 residents of South Carolina live with sickle cell disease, the most common inherited blood disorder in the U.S.

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CARING FORCHILDREN WITHSICKLE CELLChildren with sickle cell can have a full life and enjoy most of the activities other kids do. But their parents need to be extra vigilant when signs of health issues pop up.

“As kids get older, they’re more susceptible to crises,” says Beaufort Memorial board-certifi ed pediatrician Faith Polkey, MD. “Crises occur when sickle cells clump up in blood vessels. If it happens in the lungs, the child can get extremely sick extremely quickly and needs to be taken to the hospital.”

Other symptoms that warrant a visit to the doctor include:

Fever Swollen extremities in babies Pain that isn’t alleviated with

Tylenol or Motrin Severe headache, numbness

or tingling in the limbs, problems with coordination or any other signs of stroke

Kids with sickle cell should be seen regularly by a pediatrician and hematolo-gist, Polkey says. They need addi-tional vac-cinations and a daily dose of penicillin and folic acid. And like all children, they should eat a healthy diet and exer-cise regularly.

“Medication is now avail-able that can prevent blood cells from sickling,” Polkey says. “And new treatments are coming.”

How to Stay Ahead of Sickle Cell DiseaseTo date, the only potential cure for sickle cell disease is bone mar-row transplant. Because the surgery is very risky and can have serious side eff ects, most sickle cell patients simply manage the disease to relieve pain and prevent complications.

Treatment varies based on the individual’s symptoms. It can include blood transfusions, intravenous therapy and medica-tions to alleviate pain. For patients with severe sickle cell disease, hydroxyurea may be prescribed to reduce painful episodes (called crises) and the need for blood transfusions, and to prevent acute chest syndrome, a life-threatening condition that can cause chest pain, coughing, diffi culty breathing and fever.

Staying well hydrated is critical to avoiding the onset of a crisis. Patients are advised to drink eight to 10 glasses of water each day. If they become dehydrated, they may receive large volumes of fl uids intravenously.

CALL

Make an Appointment The Beaufort Memorial Sickle Cell Clinic is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday; the clinic is on the second fl oor of the main hospital building near the rehab unit. For more information or to make an appointment, call 843-522-5015.

BEAUFORT MEMORIAL SICKLE CELL CLINIC In partnership with the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) and its Sickle Cell South Carolina (SC)² network, Beaufort Memorial has opened an outpatient treatment center to provide medication and blood transfusions to adult sickle cell patients.

“Rather than wait until they have a crisis and need to go to the emergency room, patients will come in regularly for assessments,” says nurse practitioner Annemarie Gault,

the clinic’s chief healthcare provider. “By following evidence-based protocols and individual care plans, they can improve their quality of life.”

(SC)² director Julie Kanter, MD, will off er appointments at BMH once a month and consult with clinic healthcare providers via telemedicine as needed. An MUSC social worker will also be available to help patients with other issues, including transportation and fi nancial assistance.

800 Estimated number

of Lowcountry residents with sickle

cell disease

100,000 Approximate

number of Americans with

sickle cell disease

60,000 Estimated number of babies born with

the sickle cell trait in 2010

8 Percentage of

African-Americans aff ected by sickle

cell disease

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Beaufort

Memorial Sickle Cell Clinic, American Society of

Hematology

WINTER 2017 5

Most evenings, Alejandro Garcia Salas, MD, is happy to have his

wife, Claudia, make dinner for the family.“She’s a better cook than I am,” the

Beaufort Memorial Primary Care inter-nist concedes.

But in the morning, the kitchen belongs to the boys. As part of their daily routine, the physician and his 5-year-old son, Noah, prepare a hearty breakfast from a repertoire that includes every-thing from omelets to waffles.

Garcia Salas’ personal favorite is eggs with a side of black beans, fried plantain and queso fresco, a traditional morning repast in his native Guatemala. His son is partial to pancakes. Not your run-of-the-mill pancakes, mind you. Noah makes his flapjacks in a rain-bow of colors.

“I divide the batter and we add food coloring to the individual batches,” Garcia Salas says. “Noah’s very proud when he makes his own breakfast. He can’t wait to eat it.”

A die-hard soccer fan, Garcia Salas also has begun introducing

his son to his sport of choice. The two enjoy kicking the ball around the back-yard of their Lady’s Island home.

“In Guatemala, kids play soccer like we play baseball here,” Garcia Salas says. “I was 5 or 6 when I started playing.”

It remained his favorite sport even after moving with his family to Georgia at the age of 11. He went on to play in high school, but decided to forgo joining his college team to concentrate on his studies at Georgia State University.

“I couldn’t do all the flips and tricks you see players do on TV, but I could control the midfield and create opportunities for

the team to score goals,” Garcia Salas says. “Midfielders typically travel the greatest distance and have the most possession during a match, and they are some of the fittest players for that reason.”

While he only plays soccer recreation-ally now, Garcia Salas has kept up his conditioning by training with Insanity workouts five days a week.

“It’s one of the most challenging fit-ness programs on the market,” Garcia Salas says. “I like it because I can do it at home. Noah usually joins me. He’s either mimicking what I do or playing with his cars.”

OUT OF THE WHITE COAT

HOORAH!For these two Beaufort Memorial physicians, love of team sports is a family a�air

Alejandro Garcia Salas, MD

CALL

Alejandro Garcia Salas, MD, is a board-certified internist with Beaufort Memorial Primary Care. He can be reached at 843-522-7600.

WINTER 20176

Lee Butterfield, MD

It wouldn’t be a stretch to call Lee Butterfield, MD, a Clemson

football fanatic. The Beaufort Memorial cardiologist has been pulling for the Tigers since his mother introduced him to the team some 40 years ago. Never mind that they lived in Virginia.

“My mother had three sorority sisters from Clemson,” he explains. “And the Virginia team wasn’t very good.”

His allegiance to Clemson only grew stronger when his best friend from high school was awarded a football scholarship to the ACC Division 1 team. Butterfield rooted for the Tigers even during the years he himself played varsity football for Washington and Lee University.

Call it fate or serendipity, he wound up falling in love with a Clemson nursing school graduate while completing his

fellowship at the Medical University of South Carolina.

“I married into a Clemson family,” he says. “My wife, Tara, her dad and her brother all went to Clemson.”

The couple have passed on their Tiger fervor to their 10-year-old son, Andrew, and 6-year-old daughter, Addyson. The kids love going with their parents to all of Clemson’s afternoon home games.

“My daughter dresses up in a Clemson cheerleading outfit and my son wears the jersey of his favorite player of the week,” Butterfield says.

Longtime season ticket holders, the Butterfields have been tailgating for years with a half-dozen other couples. The over-the-top parking lot setup includes two 10-by-10 tents, a flat-screen TV, cornhole boards, a portable

bathroom and enough food to feed, well, a football team.

“We go all out,” Butterfield says. “For the really big games, we hang Clemson-themed chandeliers in the tents. I’m not going to deny, they’re a little tacky.”

In the off-season, the family enjoys spending time on the water. Before moving to Beaufort last summer, they often fished with friends on Lake Murray just outside Columbia, where they lived.

Now that they have a house in New Point on Lady’s Island, their new favorite play spot is their neighborhood dock on Factory Creek.

“The first purchase we made when we moved here was two crab pots and a cart to haul them down to the dock,” Butterfield says. “They’re in the water 24/7.” ■

CALL

Lee Butterfield, MD, is a board-certified cardiolo-gist with Beaufort Memorial Cardiology. He can be reached at 843-522-7110.

WINTER 2017 7

ASK THE EXPERT

WHERE DO I GO FOR CARE?

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Q I’ve been throwing up for hours and feel like the walk-ing dead. Am I better off

going to my doctor or the nearest urgent care?Your doctor knows your medical history and the medications you’re taking, so it’s best to start there first. Don’t assume you won’t be able to get a last-minute appointment. Most primary care prac-tices reserve a few spots for acute cases.

Q What if it’s after hours or on the weekend when my pri-mary care practice is closed?

If it’s a nonlife-threatening illness or injury, like a stomach virus, sprained

ankle or urinary tract infection, an urgent care center should be able to provide the treatment you need. For medical issues that require prolonged observation, advanced imaging tests or extensive lab work, it’s best to go to the emergency department. An urgent care center is not equipped to handle those kinds of problems and will advise you to go to the ER.

Q Is there any way to avoid a long wait in the ER?Beaufort Memorial Hospital

now offers online ER check-in for patients with nonlife-threatening condi-tions. With the hospital’s convenient

self-scheduling service, you can go online and choose from a list of available check-in times. To use the free service, go to www.beaufortmemorial.org.

Q What kind of symptoms would be considered life-threatening?

Go to the ER immediately or call 911 if you: • Pass out.• Have pain in the chest, arm or jaw.• Experience shortness of breath or trouble breathing.• Have severe abdominal pain or a head-ache that comes on suddenly.• Are unable to speak, see, walk or move.• Experience drooping on one side of your body or face.

Brandon McElroy, MD, is an internist at Beaufort Memorial Lady’s Island Internal Medicine. He can be reached at 843-522-7240. ■

WEBSITE

Ready to Check In?To learn more about online ER check-in, read our FAQs at www.bmhsc.org/ERcheckin.

Brandon McElroy, MD

You’re sick and need to see a doctor. Not sure if you should make an appointment with your primary care physician, drive to your neighborhood urgent care or make a beeline to the ER? Internist Brandon McElroy, MD, will help you decide the best course of action.

WINTER 20178

Staying in touch? Good. Being a phone zombie? Not so good.

Issue

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People form habits by nature. Some of them keep us healthy, but many are best broken

SMOKING: 15 percent of American adults smoked in 2015, down from nearly 21 percent in 2005

BINGE DRINKING: 1 in 6 adults binge drinks about four times a month—that’s four or more drinks in one occasion for women and fi ve or more for men

EXERCISE: Nearly half of adults meet the recom-mended guidelines for aerobic physical activity: 150 minutes of moderate exercise a week

Sources: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, BMJ Open, American Psychological Association

Habits make us human, and you can make yours better. We can help—keep reading.

Better You

DIET: 60 percent of the average American diet comes from what researchers call ultra-processed foods, while 30 percent comes from minimally processed or unprocessed foods

STRESS: 8 in 10 Americans report experiencing a symptom of stress each month

SOCIAL MEDIA: People of all generations are concerned about negative eff ects of social media on their physical and mental health; 48 percent of millennials worry about it, as do 22 percent of baby boomers

WINTER 2017 9

ACT

Anthony Anderson found success in his career and balance in his health

after a diabetes diagnosis BY SHELLEY FLANNERY

2On ABC’s Black˙ish, Anthony Anderson plays Andre Johnson, an advertising exec, husband

and dad of four who struggles to maintain his family’s black identity while living in white suburbia. The plot often pulls from the real life of Compton, California-raised Anderson, who, with his wife, Alvina Renee Stewart, raised their two children, Kyra and Nathan, in a predominantly white area of Los Angeles.

Another ripped-from-real-life detail of the show, for which Anderson also serves as an executive producer, is that his char-acter has type 2 diabetes, a condition Anderson learned he had in 2001.

An Unsurprising DiagnosisAfter appearing in such fi lms as Big Momma’s House, Barbershop and Kangaroo Jack, Anderson took a break from comedy to avoid getting typecast as the fat, funny guy. But the actor, whose drama résumé includes Martin Scorsese’s The Departed, Hustle & Flow, Law & Order and The Shield, found he couldn’t escape one role in his real life: a man with diabetes.

Anderson had three strong risk fac-tors for the disease: He was overweight, black and had a family history of type 2 diabetes. His father died of complications related to the disease.

ACT Black˙ish, Anthony

Anderson plays Andre Johnson, an advertising exec, husband

and dad of four who struggles to maintain his family’s black identity while living in white suburbia. The plot often pulls from the real life of Compton, California-raised Anderson, who, with his wife, Alvina Renee Stewart, raised their two children, Kyra and Nathan, in a predominantly white area of Los Angeles.

Another ripped-from-real-life detail of the show, for which Anderson also serves as an executive producer, is that his char-acter has type 2 diabetes, a condition Anderson learned he had in 2001.

An Unsurprising

After appearing in such fi lms as Big Barbershop and Kangaroo

, Anderson took a break from comedy to avoid getting typecast as the fat, funny guy. But the actor, whose drama résumé includes Martin Scorsese’s The Departed,

Law & Order and Law & Order and Law & Order The Shield,found he couldn’t escape one role in his real life: a man with diabetes.

Anderson had three strong risk fac-tors for the disease: He was overweight, black and had a family history of type 2 diabetes. His father died of complications

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Even though he had an inkling it was coming, Anderson missed his earliest symptom.

“I was feeling a little lethargic and tired throughout my day,” Anderson says. “I thought it was because I was burning the candle at both ends. I was out promoting a film I did called Kangaroo Jack, and I did 16 cities in 14 days. When I finally came home, I just noticed that I didn’t have the energy I would normally have—midday naps when I wouldn’t normally take a midday nap. And, you know, just feeling a little lazy.”

Then came unquenchable thirst and frequent urination, which is what ultimately sent him to a physician.

“One night, in a matter of 2¹�₂ hours, I drank 5 gallons of water, and I was constantly going to the restroom,” Anderson says. “I was like, ‘This isn’t good,’ so I went to the doctor the next morning. And lo and behold, my blood sugar was … something crazy.”

Anderson’s experience is typical of people with diabetes, says Matt

to what my doctor told me to do. I cut some things out. I went to a nutritionist.”

Then suddenly it hit him.“In 2008, I decided that I needed to

make a drastic lifestyle change to see how that would help with the disease. I became vegan, and I got in the gym,” he says. “I was living in New York and on Law & Order at the time, so I got a bike and I would ride around the city.”

Going vegan wasn’t in the cards for Anderson long term. Instead, he stuck to an important piece of advice he got from trainer Bob Harper of The Biggest Loser.

“He told me to just eat half of what you normally eat, and the weight will just fall off you,” Anderson says. “I was eating 3,600 calories a day to maintain the weight I was at. So if I cut every-thing I’m eating in half, then that 3,600 calories now becomes 1,800 calories. It’s basic math.” (Of course, such a dras-tic change in diet needs to be cleared with a physician and might not be right for everybody.)

1 He attended Howard University on a talent scholarship and has been married to his college sweetheart since 1999.

2 The man who plays his father on Black·ish, Laurence Fishburne, is only nine years his senior in real life.

3 He loves to golf and hosted his own celebrity charity tournament. 4 In 2011, Anderson won $250,000 for the Alzheimer’s Association on

Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? 5 Much of Black·ish is inspired by Anderson’s life, including a plotline in the

pilot in which Anderson’s son asks to have a bar mitzvah for his birthday. 6 While son Nathan wishes to follow in his father’s footsteps as an actor,

Anderson’s daughter, Kyra, plans to earn a doctorate degree with the goal of heading a nonprofit organization.

7 Anderson worked with the same nutritionist as Al Roker.

Petersen, managing director of medi-cal information for the American Diabetes Association.

“Unquenchable thirst and frequent urination are quintessential first warning signs of any kind of diabe-tes,” he says. “Glucose builds up in the bloodstream because it’s not being absorbed, and so the body tries very hard to dilute that with strong thirst. And that’s, of course, accompanied by increased urination.”

Other warning signs include blurry vision, slow-healing cuts or bruises, and tingling, pain or numbness in the hands or feet.

Making a Change Anderson watched his dad ignore his diabetes by refusing to make lifestyle changes and ultimately succumb to the disease. Anderson knew he didn’t want that for his own family. Still, improve-ment came slowly.

“I didn’t make a drastic, immedi-ate lifestyle change, but I did make a lifestyle change,” he says. “I adhered

Anthony Anderson on the set of Black·ish with costar

Laurence Fishburne.

7 THINGS YOU MIGHT NOT KNOW ABOUT ANTHONY ANDERSON

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Sources: IMDb, Entertainment Weekly, USA Today, Hollywood Reporter, Yahoo! News, Los Angeles Times

WINTER 201712

About the same time, Anderson also made exercise a part of his routine, biking while he was in Manhattan and running while in L.A. He kept a close eye on his blood sugar, checking it three times a day.

His efforts paid off. Anderson lost 46 pounds, enough to have a positive effect on his blood sugar. It also meant that the production crew on Law & Order had to buy a new wardrobe for his character.

Petersen stresses the importance of weight loss to diabetes management, because excess body fat leads to insulin resistance, or an inability of the body to properly deal with glucose.

“It is the cornerstone of what we can do to potentially curb and treat diabe-tes,” he says. “There is a genetic com-ponent, yes. But if you have that genetic component, then the leading risk factor you have control over is your weight.”

The good news is that weight loss doesn’t need to be as dramatic as Anderson’s to yield results. Losing 5 to 10 percent of your body weight—that’s 10 to 20 pounds for a 200-pound per-son—can greatly reduce the risk of heart-related diabetes complications, according to the journal Diabetes Care.

The Magic of ModerationBeing handed a diagnosis of diabetes is stressful, but managing the disease doesn’t have to be overwhelming.

“Yes, there is a lot to think about,” says Joanne Rinker, RD, a certified dia-betes educator and a spokeswoman for the American Association of Diabetes Educators. “Talk to your diabetes edu-cator about which changes are impor-tant right now, and take them one at a time.”

In addition to eating less, Anderson focuses on reducing the amount of refined carbohydrates he eats. He still allows himself sandwiches, but now he has half, so he’s eating one piece of bread instead of two. When he’s hungry for pasta, he opts for multigrain.

“It’s really just about portion con-trol and making healthier choices,” Anderson says.

Rinker recommends moderation when starting an exercise routine, too.

“If you haven’t done much activity before, start with 10 minutes of walk-ing around your neighborhood,” she says. “Associate walks with mealtime. Walk and then eat breakfast, or walk after lunch and dinner. At the end of the day, you’re at [the recommended] 30 minutes.”

Eventually habits will form, and eat-ing well and exercising will become second nature. That’s what happened for Anderson, and he hopes his story will inspire others to make changes.

Whether acting as a spokesman for the FACE Diabetes campaign, which stands for Fearless African-Americans Connected and Empowered, educating his family or incorporating lines about the disease into Black˙ish, Anderson’sgoal is to live by example.

“I found out that when I’m doing interviews like this, I am and have become an inspiration to people. They stop me on the street and they tell me, ‘I read this article that you did, and I just want to let you know because of you, I’ve turned my life around,’ �” he says. “I hear stories like that all the time, and it makes me feel good about going public with my disease and try-ing to inspire people.”

And what an inspiration Anderson has become. No –ish about it. �

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DIABETES (MONEY) MANAGEMENTGolden Globe nominee Anthony Anderson consulted Bob Harper of “The Biggest Loser” and hired a nutritionist to help battle his diabetes. But we’re not all so lucky. Here are three tips for managing diabetes on a budget.3Bring in a professional. Ask

your healthcare provider to refer you to a diabetes educator. “We’ll give you the tools you need to control the disease,” says Kim Edwards, certi-fied diabetes educator at Beaufort Memorial LifeFit Wellness Services. “That includes meal planning, exercise counseling and instruction on how to medically manage the disease.” Most insurance plans will cover at least some of the cost of diabetes education. If you’re a self-pay patient, you may be eligible for financial aid.3Pile on the produce. To

facilitate a plant-based diet, Edwards recommends buying your fruits and veggies at roadside stands. “The prices are extremely reasonable,” she says. “Frozen produce is the next best thing.” 3Ask for assistance. “If you can’t

afford your medication or diabetes supplies, your doctor or diabetes educator may be able to direct you to resources where you can get them for free or at a reduced cost,” Edwards says. And if you’re unsure how to take your prescriptions or medically manage your diabetes, don’t be afraid to ask for help.

CALL

Diabetes Care ServicesBeaufort Memorial Hospital offers specialized outpatient diabetes programs for children and teens, women with gestational diabetes and other adults. To make an appointment with a certified diabetes educator, call LifeFit Wellness Services at 843-522-5635.

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ImprovedYOU,

Many of us want to develop healthier habits. But it’s hard

to make big changes and stick with them. Read on to learn howBY STEPHANIE R. CONNER

THE BIG STORY

WINTER 201714

WINTER 2017 15

Start your day in a heart-healthy way

MATTERDid you know heart attacks are more common in the morning? Some research even suggests that a.m. heart attacks are also the most serious.

As if mornings weren’t stressful enough.

MORNINGS

HEART-HEALTHY MORNINGS Good for you can

be delicious.

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The good news is that there’s an opportunity to make those early hours work for you and your health. Every morning, you make decisions that can have an impact on your heart, says Garth Graham, MD, a cardiologist and former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

“Although genetics is important, the kinds of hab-its we employ are even more important,” he says.

Take these changes one at a time, and soon you’ll be on your way to a healthier day—and life.

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CHOICE NO. 1: YOUR WAKE-UP TIMEThe first step to a good morning starts the night before, when you decide to go to bed. Crash late, and you cheat yourself out of the many health benefits of sleep.

“We now know that sleep has an impact on not only functionality but also coronary artery disease,” Graham says.

Not getting enough sleep appears to affect glucose metabolism, blood pres-sure and inflammation, which increases risk for conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. And one study even found that people who sleep less than six hours a night are about twice as likely to have a stroke or heart attack as those who sleep six to eight hours a night.

So make sure you go to bed early enough to get about eight hours of sleep. Also important: If you find your-self getting eight hours of sleep at night and still not feeling rested, talk to your doctor. People with sleep apnea, which causes frequent night waking, often have heart problems.

CHOICE NO. 2: YOUR BREAKFAST“For any lifestyle choice to be impact-ful, it has to be sustainable,” Graham says. So, he advises, strive to find foods that fit your palate. Try to limit the salt, sugar and saturated fat in your breakfast while increasing vegetables, fruits and whole grains. Skip the high-sugar cere-als, doughnuts and pastries.

Egg whites are a great protein, says George Bakris, MD, an author for the medical reference The Merck Manual. An egg white scramble with a handful of veggies and a side of fruit is a healthful way to start the day.

And be mindful of those morning staples bacon and sausage, which are fatty and salty.

“For people who are eating a lot of breakfast meats,” Bakris adds, “you can substitute those with salmon, which is very nutritious.”

CHOICE NO. 3: YOUR ACTIVITYIf you’re able to squeeze in a workout—even just 30 minutes of brisk walking or a quick interval training routine—into your morning, you’ll start things off knowing you’ve already done your rec-ommended exercise for the day.

“Making it part of the morn-ing routine is great because it helps give you energy throughout the day,” Graham says.

If joint pain or other issues are keep-ing you from the treadmill or a bike, Bakris offers a solution: “I’m a huge advocate of swimming ... especially for people with arthritis.”

Swimming is a full-body exercise that is easy on joints and great for people who are overweight, too, he says.

But if morning workouts aren’t your style, you can still build some activity into your morning by looking for small ways to get more steps. Walk to work or the bus stop, or take the office stairs instead of the elevator.

CHOICE NO. 4: YOUR ATTITUDEStress may feel inevitable, even though you know it has a negative effect on your heart health. But you can choose to be positive and mindful in an effort to tackle stress head-on.

Long-term psychological stress leads to increased levels of the stress hormone cortisol, which can result in higher blood sugar levels (a marker for diabe-tes), digestive issues, sleep problems, memory issues and weight gain.

Managing stress takes practice. A few steps you can take in the morning include meditating and deep-breathing exercises to help you set the stage for a calmer day. You can also try affirma-tions; telling yourself you’re going to have a great day can be a positive tool. �

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THREE STEPS TO LESS MORNING STRESS Are mornings torture in your house? There are ways to conquer the chaos.

1. Make a plan, and prep. For an easier morning, devise a plan the night before and do as much prepara-tion as possible. Pack lunches, lay out clothes, even bathe in the evening.

2. Follow a routine. If the fam-ily members know the routine—and their morning responsibilities—rather than having a different flow every day, it will be easier to stay on track.

3. Pause for quiet time or medi-tation. Get your head straight before the day begins. Take five or 10 min-utes for quiet time, prayer or medita-tion, or even gentle yoga.

“I like to start off the morning with quiet time—about 20 to 25 minutes of mindfulness techniques,” says Garth Graham, MD, a cardiologist and former deputy assistant secretary at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. “It helps throughout the day.”

CALL

If You Do One ThingQuit smoking. It’s the No. 1 change you can make to improve your health. To help you kick the habit, Beaufort Memorial offers the American Lung Association’s Freedom From Smoking program. Call 843-522-5570 for details.

CARDIAC REHAB

A heart disease diagnosis doesn't

have to sideline you.

REHAB FOR

HEARTS

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Linda Cox was 59 when she had a heart attack. A delay in treatment led to permanent damage to her heart. She did OK for a while, and then, about eight years later and after two trips to the emergency department, she learned she had congestive heart failure.

Cardiac rehabilitation can make all the diff erence for people with heart problems

The diagnosis was a devastating blow. Her doctors wondered if she needed a heart transplant. Her ejection fraction score, which measures the percentage of blood leaving the heart with each contraction, was about 20 percent. Normal is 55 percent or higher.

Fortunately, Cox also left with a referral to cardiac rehabilitation.

“I had an expectation that it wouldn’t make a diff erence,” she says. “I did what I needed to do, but I never expected that things would improve.”

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HOW CARDIAC REHAB WORKS What Cox didn’t know then is

that anyone who has had a heart attack, heart surgery or another serious heart-related condition can benefi t greatly from cardiac rehab. It’s a program of exercise, nutrition and stress reduction designed to help gradually improve the health of the heart.

Phase 1 of cardiac rehab begins in the hospital, says John Osborne, MD, PhD, a cardiologist and spokesman for the American Heart Association. This phase involves getting the patient out of bed in addition to providing heart-health education.

Then, phase 2 is typically three times a week at a rehab facility for 12 weeks. During this time, the patient might do resistance training, ride a stationary bike and walk on a tread-mill. Over time, as the heart gets stronger, “your exercise is gradually increased,” Osborne says.

Participants are monitored closely during exercise. Their blood pressure and heart rhythms are checked con-stantly. Counseling on diet and lifestyle factors is also a key component.

And while the physical benefi ts of cardiac rehab are undeniable, Osborne says, the camaraderie and support of these programs are just as important.

For Cox, the upbeat, encouraging staff at her cardiac rehab facility and the supportive fellow participants made a diff erence.

“If I wasn’t having a good day, I could go to cardiac rehab and feel bet-ter. The whole thing just lifted my spirits,” she says. “I was working to do better, and there were other people doing the same thing.”

Phase 3 of cardiac rehab is more open-ended, Osborne says. Patients typ-ically exercise on their own at the same facility where they completed phase 2; it’s an ongoing maintenance phase to keep up the gains made. Cox, now 68, is in phase 3.

GIVING IT A CHANCEStudies have shown that

cardiac rehab leads to a reduced risk of both hospital readmission and death, in addition to lower anxiety, depression, hostility and stress.

“Cardiac rehab has been shown to have a dramatic eff ect on recovery,” Osborne says.

Even so, a lot of patients don’t go. Experts estimate participation rates to be around 20 to 30 percent. For some, the time commitment and insurance challenges are barriers, but those can be fi gured out, Osborne says. The impor-tant thing, he notes, is for physicians to make the referral and for the patient to be motivated and engaged.

When he works with patients, Osborne strives to make sure they understand the importance of rehab in the recovery process.

“I say, ‘The single most important thing you’ll do is cardiac rehab,’� ” he says. “I drum that message in every time I see them so they understand this is important.”

For Cox, despite her early skepticism, cardiac rehab made a diff erence. Her ejection fraction percentage, which was 20 when she left the hospital, returned to 40 percent after several weeks of cardiac rehab.

“That’s back to where I was before the congestive heart failure diagnosis,” she says. “I cried when I found out. I’d never dreamed I’d get back to that.” �

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MAXIMIZE YOUR REHAB POWER You’ve accepted the referral, and you’re ready for cardiac rehab. Now how do you get the most out of this experience?

Take the lessons you learn in rehab to heart, says board-certified cardiologist David Harshman, MD, of Beaufort Memorial Cardiology.

“At cardiac rehab, you’ll learn exercises you can do at home to build up your strength and improve your heart health,” Harshman says. “But you have to put in the effort to reap the benefits.”

That includes making lifestyle changes that have been shown to reduce your risk of having another cardiac event. Along with exercise therapy, patients are encouraged to stop smoking and monitor their blood pressure, cholesterol and diabetes.

During the course of their rehab, they’ll meet with a registered dietitian to ensure they are eating a proper diet. Counseling and group support are also available for those suffering from the depression and anxiety that often follow heart trouble.

“It’s all about personal motiva-tion,” Harshman says. “If you want to get better, you need to buy into the whole program.”

CALL

Reduce Your RiskBeaufort Memorial’s medically supervised cardiac rehab program includes exercise therapy, nutrition counseling and education on lifestyle changes that can help you reduce your risk factors and get back to the normal activities of daily living. To learn more about the program, call 843-522-5635.

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Get fit and avoid injury, no matter your age or circumstances

EXERCISE FOR

Aching joints? Hit the pool.

FITNESS THROUGH THE AGES

EVERYONEYou know you should exercise. “But I’m too old to start something now,” you tell yourself.

Nope. You’re not. “It’s never too late,” says Cris Dobrosielski,

a spokesman for the American Council on Exercise and author of Going the Distance: The Three Essential Elements of Optimal Lifelong Fitness and Injury Prevention.

Regardless of age, the key is building a fitness plan that makes sense for you as an individual. Forget every-body else.

“We can’t train the way we used to, and we can’t train the way our neigh-bor does,” Dobrosielski says.

But when you work at a reasonable pace and progressively build on your fitness, you’ll feel (and see) the results. Here’s a look at how to approach fit-ness at different stages of life.

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WHEN YOU’RE PREGNANTWhat’s going on: Exercise is part of a healthy pregnancy. Pregnant women are likely to gain 25 to 35 pounds, and the changes in your body can cause joint discomfort and a shift in your center of gravity as the baby grows. Plus, you’re training for labor.

The plan: For women who weren’t active before becoming pregnant, this isn’t the time to launch into a demand-ing workout routine, experts say. But walking and gentle prenatal yoga are great options. If you were active before you got pregnant, you can most likely continue your regular workout routine for as long as you feel well enough to do so. Pregnant women should avoid activi-ties that have a high risk for contact or falling, and stay away from overly vigor-ous activity in the third trimester.

WHEN YOU HAVEN’T BEEN ACTIVE IN YEARS What’s going on: A sedentary lifestyle and a less-than-nutritious diet leave many people overweight and at risk for high cholesterol and high blood pressure levels as they move into middle age.

The plan: If you’re new to exer-cise, the key is to start slowly. First, see your doctor to make sure you’re healthy enough to work out. Then, a certified personal trainer can help you ease into exercise. Sometimes that means starting people out easier than they expect, Dobrosielski says. But when you build your fitness level over time, you have less risk of injury. Plus, with a progres-sive approach that challenges you with-out leaving you begging for mercy, you’ll be more likely to stick with it.

WHEN YOU’RE AN AGING ATHLETE What’s going on: Even the most ath-letic people start to deal with more aches and pains as they age. Runners or those who play competitive sports may develop arthritis or find they don’t have the endurance they once had.

The plan: Sometimes active peo-ple have to change their activities. So if running isn’t going to work anymore because of joint pain, try bicycling, swimming or yoga. Resistance training is important for men and women of all ages, Dobrosielski says. He recommends exercises that have you on your feet and require broad moves across multiple joints in the body, such as squatting, pulling, pushing and twisting.

WHEN YOU’RE RECOVERING FROM JOINT SURGERYWhat’s going on: After a joint replace-ment surgery, your surgeon will typically prescribe a physical therapy program to get you up and moving. You may find that you have less pain now and want to exercise beyond the pre-scribed program.

The plan: Walking is a great first step and typically a key component of rehab. If you’re ready to take it up a notch, riding a stationary bike, swim-ming or using a stair climber are excel-lent options for aerobic fitness. Resistance exercises to strengthen the muscles around the knee, including squats and lunges, are great, too.

WHEN YOU’RE WORRIED ABOUT FALLING What’s going on: For older adults, falls are a serious concern, and there’s good reason: They can be devastating. According to the National Institutes of Health, more than 1.6 million older Americans go to emergency depart-ments for injuries related to falls each

year. Falls are the top cause of fractures, loss of independence and injury deaths.

The plan: Balance and strength are key to fall prevention. A daily walk-ing routine is a good start—you don’t want to move less because you’re afraid to fall. Dobrosielski, who trains adults in their 70s and 80s, incorporates balance into strength exercises. Yoga is another gentle option for those who want to focus on strength and balance. �

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AGELESS ACTIVITIES Getting fit at any age requires an incre-mental approach, says Meghan Deagan, senior wellness coach at Beaufort Memorial LifeFit Wellness Center.

“A great way to get started is by incorporating exercise into your day,” she says. “You can do squats while you’re folding laundry or calf raises while you brush your teeth.”

Rather than squats, older adults can perform sit-to-stand exercises using a chair. As you get stronger, you can hold light weights or increase the number of repetitions.

Pushups can also be easily modi-fied to suit your fitness level. Instead of performing them on the floor, you can push off a wall or counter.

To improve the conditioning of your heart and lungs, try walking or bicycling. For people who have had back, hip, knee or leg injuries, swim-ming is a great alternative because it has little to no impact on your joints, Deagan says.

CALL

Making It PersonalPersonal trainers can help you get the most out of your workout and motivate you to stick with the program. To schedule sessions with a LifeFit Wellness Center trainer, call 843-522-5635.

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L eonard D. Reeves, MD, knows first-hand how important it is to have a plan in place so your loved ones can make decisions for you if you can’t.

“I lost my wife about six years ago. She was not old—she was 53—but she had liver fail-ure,” he says. “We had talked about what she wanted. She did not want to be put on any mechanical assistance. So we were able to do what she wished, and it was so much easier when we gathered the family to know that this was her wish, and not necessarily any one of us wanting our wish imposed on her.”

Reeves, a member of the board of direc-tors of the American Academy of Family Physicians, encourages his own patients to share their wishes with their loved ones and to get the proper paperwork in place so loved ones can voice those wishes in case of illness or death. It’s not always easy to talk about, but it’s important.

Would you want life support in the form of a feeding tube or ventilator? Or would you prefer to die a natural death? “Talk with fam-ily members and let them know what you want and what you don’t want,” Reeves says.

of

PEACEMIND

Put a life care plan in place so you and your family are prepared for whatever happens—then go enjoy life BY STEPHANIE THURROTT

Planning for

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THE CASE FOR BEING PREPARED And before you say “but I’m young and healthy,” know this: It’s important to have these conversations before you’re sick or injured. “People think if they’re not sick, they don’t need this, but these plans come into play when you are unconscious or unable to understand or communicate,” says Elizabeth Revenko, a certified financial planner and a member of the Financial Planning Association. “This gives you the chance to say what you want, not to have someone else make these deci-sions for you.”

Perhaps most crucial, having these conversations in advance makes it less likely there will be a situa-tion later that pits family members against each other. Reeves has seen fights break out among family mem-bers over medical decisions, such as whether to use a ventilator or a

Q Where Do I Start?Begin with a conversation with your primary care phy-

sician. He or she can explain the types of interventions that medical profes-sionals can provide, such as CPR, feeding tubes, respirators and pain management, and outline the options to consider when deciding which you might want. Your doctor can also help you decide who should make medical decisions on your behalf.

To make it official, you fill out legal forms, which you can do with or with-out a lawyer (though some forms need to be witnessed or notarized). Some states have their own forms; contact your local Area Agency on Aging if you need help accessing them. Your key choices fall into two areas: who can make healthcare decisions for you if you can’t, and how you would like those decisions to be made.

feeding tube. “I’ve seen it really tear up families,” he says.

Edo Banach, president and CEO of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, points to headline-grabbing cases. Karen Ann Quinlan was a 21-year-old who became coma-tose in 1975. Her parents wanted to end her life support, but the hospital objected. Terri Schiavo spent 10 years in a vegetative state and on a feeding tube. Her husband wanted to end life support; her family did not. Quinlan’s parents and Schiavo’s husband pre-vailed after lengthy court battles.

“The last thing we want are stories like these—unfortunate situations where someone’s wishes are not that clear and family members end up fighting,” Banach says.

Planning—completing “advance directives” such as a healthcare power of attorney and a living will—can seem overwhelming. Here are answers to questions you might have.

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Q Who Makes Decisions for Me?Your healthcare power of

attorney is a document that names the person you want to make decisions for you. You should choose a family member or a close friend, not your doc-tor. And make sure you also choose an alternate, in case both you and the person you’ve selected are unable to make decisions.

Be sure to ask the person before you name him or her in the document. It shouldn’t surprise the individual to find out he or she might have to make healthcare decisions for you.

This healthcare power of attorney does not give someone the right to make decisions that you could make yourself.

“You have to lose your own ability to make decisions” for that person to be in charge, Reeves says.

While life care planning is often linked with end-of-life issues, it also comes into play in other situations. Suppose you have dementia and can no longer decide whether you should be admitted to an assisted living facility. In some states, no one can make that decision for you without going through the process of getting guardianship. “You’re in a tricky position,” Banach says. “There’s no one to consent to care.”

If you have a life care plan in place, however, the person you’ve named in your healthcare power of attorney can decide for you.

KNOW THE LINGOHere are some terms and phrases you might come across:

3Advance directives. These outline your wishes about health-care in case you are not able to make them known. They typically include two components—a durable power of attorney for healthcare and a living will.

3Durable power of attorney for healthcare. This document goes by many names—healthcare proxy, healthcare agent or medi-cal power of attorney. Whatever the name, it gives someone the right to make healthcare deci-sions for you. It doesn’t need to be completed by a lawyer, but it may need to be notarized or witnessed, depending on your state of residence. (Don’t con-fuse it with a power of attorney, which is a document that gives someone the right to make finan-cial, not medical, decisions on your behalf.)

3Living will. This document outlines the treatments and interventions you would prefer in certain circumstances, so you’re able to communicate your wishes if you are incapacitated.

3Natural order of priority. If you haven’t made your wishes known, your state might have in place a natural order of pri-ority, which outlines who can make healthcare decisions for you. Most states start with your spouse and then move on to other family members.

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Q What if I Don’tDesignate a Decision Maker?

You don’t have to choose someone to make decisions for you. In that case, if you’re unable to make medical decisions for your-self, your state likely has a plan in place—called a “natural order of priority”—that outlines who is called upon. But that out-come can be undesirable for two reasons: The person named to make decisions for you might not be the person you would choose, and that person might be forced to make difficult decisions quickly without knowing what you would want.

Q How Should My WishesBe Carried Out?Your living will outlines the type

of care you would like if you couldn’t make decisions on your own. “It’s about mak-ing sure you’re given a voice to talk when you can no longer use your own,” Banach says. Your doctor can help you decide what to include.

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TACKLING THE TALKSome families manage end-of-life care planning conversations matter-of-factly. But for others, these conversations prove challenging.

Discomfort is natural, but it can be overcome. Financial planner Elizabeth Revenko recommends a game called Hello (commonpractice.com/hello). The game encourages family members to ask each other questions like, “What music do you want to be listening to on your last day alive?” The answers can help everyone get clarity about their wishes, so completing the documents is easier. “And if there’s a subject someone doesn’t want to discuss, you can move on to the next thing,” Revenko says.

Edo Banach, of the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, recom-mends starting these conversations when the family is gathered for an event such as a birthday or Thanksgiving. Talking about these issues when someone is sick, or when someone is scheduling surgery, adds to the stress.

“It’s important that this be done before there’s a crisis,” he says. “It’s easier to have these conversations when there isn’t any drama. When there’s drama going on, that’s when it’s most difficult to get consensus.”

If your family is struggling to have these conversations, professionals such as elder-care service providers can help.

Ask your doctor for a recommenda-tion, or search online for providers in your area.

DOWNLOAD

Ready to Take the Next Step? Downloadable forms for a liv-ing will and healthcare power of attorney are available in both English and Spanish at beaufortmemorial.org under the “Health Resources” tab.

Think about medical interventions you would or would not want in case of seri-ous and life-threatening illness. People typically consider whether they would want CPR, a ventilator or a feeding tube. You may want to indicate whether you want to donate your organs after death.

Once you’ve completed your living will, review it with the people you have named to make healthcare decisions for you. The more information you can give them about what you want, the better. It can ease their struggles if they know what you would want them to do.

It’s a good idea to review these docu-ments as part of your regular well-ness checkup. “Healthcare can change in any direction as you experience ill health,” Revenko says. You might think you would never want a certain type of care but then change your mind. Or you might decide you’re done with certain types of treatments.

Q What if the Worst Happens?It’s not enough to have a plan.

Make sure your doctor and loved ones can access your documents. “Without the forms, there’s no guarantee your wishes are going to be followed,” Banach says.

Don’t just put them in a safe deposit box. Keep a copy and give copies to the person you’ve chosen to speak for you and to your doctor. Your doctor’s electronic copy should be available to hospitals and other doctors who are

caring for you. Some states and organi-zations provide a brightly colored paper you can stick to your fridge, so if you need emergency care at home, the medi-cal personnel can see your wishes.

“You want as many folks and insti-tutions as possible to have it,” Banach says, “so there are no questions about what your wishes are.” �

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Adults need vaccines, too. When was the last time you checked if your immunizations were up to date?

BY MONIQUE CURET

SHOTSGROWN-UPS

for

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W hen you think of vaccinations, do you picture pudgy

baby legs being poked withneedles or kindergartnersgetting a slew of shots before heading off to school for the fi rst time? If that’s all that comes to mind, think again.

Little do most people know, adults need vaccina-tions, too, as the eff ectiveness of childhood shots fades and age-related concerns set in.

“Adults aren’t getting the vaccinations they need,” says Amy Parker Fiebelkorn, an epidemiologist for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. “When adults visit their healthcare providers, they should be asking about what vaccinations they’re due for and which vaccinations are recommended for them based on their age and risk factors.”

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WHY VACCINES MATTER The fi rst reason to get immunized is to protect yourself against illness.

“There are a number of very serious diseases that can be prevented by vacci-nation,” says Walter A. Orenstein, MD, president of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases. He cited sev-eral illnesses that can be avoided by immunization:

• Pneumonia, which is particularly dangerous to older adults.

• Infl uenza, which kills thousands of people each year, most of whom are 65 and older.

• Shingles, which “can be a ter-rible disease with prolonged pain,” Orenstein says.

None of these conditions is trivial, he says, and they’re easy to get vac-cinated for at your doctor’s offi ce or a pharmacy.

WHICH SHOTS DO YOU NEED?For starters, all adults should get the infl uenza vaccine annually. Flu viruses change quickly, and previous vaccines might not provide protection against new strains.

Other shots are required because of waning immunity, Orenstein says. That’s when protection from the initial vaccinations decreases over time. Booster shots—given after the initial vaccinations—provide continued protection.

Adults need tetanus and diphtheria booster shots every 10 years. A one-time booster for pertussis and whoop-ing cough is recommended and can be given with tetanus and diphtheria, Orenstein says.

Some adults never received certain vaccinations in childhood and need

to get them now. Anyone who has not received the measles,

mumps and rubella

(MMR) vaccine or the varicella vac-cine for chickenpox should get them as adults, Parker Fiebelkorn says.

One vaccine is newer to the scene, having been approved by the Food and Drug Administration about a decade ago. The human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine is recommended for females up to age 26 and males up to age 21. Young adults who didn’t get the vaccine as adolescents should get it before they hit those birthdays.

OLDER ADULTS, DIFFERENT NEEDS In addition to the immunizations rec-ommended for all adults, those over age 60 have specifi c vaccine needs. People older than 60 should get a shin-gles vaccine because the risk of getting the painful skin rash increases as you age. Those over 60 have a greater than 30 percent chance of getting shingles.

Shingles and chickenpox are caused by the same virus. People who’ve had chickenpox have the inactive virus pres-ent in their bodies, and it can reactivate, causing shingles.

Beginning at age 65, people should receive pneumococcal vaccines to pro-tect against pneumonia and meningitis. Those illnesses can be life-threatening for older people.

not received the measles, mumps and rubella

Adults need tetanus and diphtheria booster shots

every 10 years.

WINTER 201730

PROTECTING THOSE AROUND YOUGetting immunized doesn’t just help your own health. It also helps those around you.

“Vaccinations are very important to protect yourself as well as to protect your family members and vulnerable people,” Parker Fiebelkorn says.

Adults must stay up on their shots to safeguard people who can’t get them, such as infants who are too young for immunizations and those with com-promised immune systems. The latter group includes people with cancer and those who have had organ transplants.

Keeping current on vaccinations as an adult helps build what the public health community calls herd immu-nity, Parker Fiebelkorn says.

“Herd immunity is when enough people are vaccinated against a dis-ease that it protects the broader com-munity,” she says. “When enough people around the unvaccinated are vaccinated, it basically pro-vides a barrier of protection for the whole community.”

BUILDING AWARENESS If there are so many good reasons to be vaccinated, why aren’t more adults doing it? Claire Hannan, execu-tive director of the Association of Immunization Managers, says there’s a strong infrastructure for childhood immunization but nothing similar for adults.

Public health systems include pro-grams to make sure children are get-ting vaccinated eff ectively—from maintaining a database of providers to ensuring that providers are storing

vaccines properly—but “we really don’t have those systems in place for adults,” Hannan says.

State programs are steadily improving by educating people and working with providers to establish processes that will improve adult immunization rates, she says.

She adds, “Adults need to realize they need to assess their own vaccinations and get vaccinated, just like they do for their kids.” �

ting vaccinated eff ectively—from maintaining a database of providers to ensuring that providers are storing

Stay up on your shots to safeguard people who can’t get them, such as

infants.

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SPECIAL SITUATIONS Some people’s circumstances require addi-tional or different types of vaccinations. Healthcare workers, for instance, should receive all the usual immunizations, along with hepatitis B, says internist Brandon McElroy, MD, of Beaufort Memorial Lady’s Island Internal Medicine.

People traveling to certain international locations, including India and Mexico, might need other special vaccinations. Those planning to visit countries where yel-low fever is an issue should be vaccinated against the mosquito-transmitted disease. McElroy suggests checking the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s website or uploading its TravWell app to review

the list of destination-specific vaccina-tion recommendations.

“You’ll want to get your vaccinations at least six months in advance of your trip, as some require a series of injections given on a prescribed schedule,” McElroy says. “Other vaccines may need to be special-ordered by the pharmacy.”

McElroy says people with HIV or compro-mised immune systems and those receiving chemotherapy should not receive live flu vaccines but rather an alternative. Other recommended vaccinations may also be different for this group.

Immunizations are especially important for those with chronic conditions, who might not

be able to handle the same infections that healthy people can easily shake off.

“Whatever your age or health status,” McElroy says, “make sure you’re up to date on all the recommended vaccinations.”

WEBSITE

Are You Up to Date? To find a primary care physician, visit beaufortmemorial.org or call 888-522-5585.

THE QUICK LIST

WANT MORE HEALTHY IDEAS? Check out our spring issue, all about achieving your goals.

10 HEALTHY HABITS TO START NOW

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WANT MORE HEALTHY IDEAS? Check out our spring issue, all about achieving your goals.

7

1 Love to load up your plate? Try reducing portion size to facilitate weight loss.

It’s timeworn advice but still reliable:Get eight hours of sleep each night.

4 If you’ve been given

a diagnosis of heart disease, sign up for car-diac rehabilitation right away.

5 Feeling down? Try daily affi rmations.

Tell yourself that you will have a great day or that you’re capable of amazing things.

Make it a goal to have an advance directive for your healthcare completed by your next birthday.

9 Talk to your family about your wishes

for healthcare if you become sick, injured or incapacitated.

10 Ask your doctor if you’re up

to date on vaccinations. If not, schedule them. It will only hurt a min-ute, and it could prevent major illness.

New to exercise? Start slowly and work up gradually. Your body will thank you.

6

8

3 Wake up with enough time to make a protein-rich breakfast. One idea: an egg white scramble

with veggies.

8

4a diagnosis of heart disease, sign up for car-diac rehabilitation right away.

egg white scramble with veggies. 33 Wake up with enough time

to make a protein-rich breakfast. One idea: an breakfast. One idea: an

WANT MORE HEALTHY IDEAS?

3 egg white scramble with veggies.

Practice yoga. It’s great for building strength and preventing falls.

WINTER 201732

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

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GREAT STRIDES IN THE FIGHT AGAINST ALZHEIMER’SNew research shows that there may be steps people with Alzheimer’s can take—literally—to slow the disease’s progression.

Researchers examined the eff ects of frequent, brisk walks over a 26-week period in people with early-stage Alzheimer’s. Not only did the exer-cise improve memory and slow the rate of brain loss, but it also led to a meaningful eff ect on independence through improved ability to carry out everyday activities.

So while exercise can’t be viewed as a stand-alone treatment for Alzheimer’s disease, it does off er a low-cost, low-risk strategy that may improve brain health and prolong independence. And those are steps in the right direction.

WINTER 2017 33

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

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

What’s the healthier comfort food?ANSWER: GREEN BEAN CASSEROLE

While both these hearty foods make you feel good on a cold winter’s day, green bean casserole has the health edge over mac and cheese when it comes to calories, saturated fat and carbs. The hard truth, however, is that both these classics are high-fat aff airs. Try these comfort-food face-lifts.

Mac and cheese: Substitute skim milk and use only half the recom-mended butter (unsalted). Substitute whole-grain macaroni or sprinkle steamed broccoli into the recipe to add fi ber or crunch without a lot of fat or calories.

Green bean casserole: Use low-fat cream of mushroom soup and skim milk. Substitute raw onions for fried, and sprinkle whole-wheat bread crumbs to create crunch.

THAT’S A ‘LOW’ BLOWFor years, health experts have been telling us to read food labels. But before you even get to the label, sneaky advertising claims may be drawing us in.

Researchers recently looked at food purchases made by more than 40,000 U.S. households from 2008 to 2012 and found that 13 percent of food and 35 percent of drinks were marketed as having low or no sugar, fat or salt. It’s become common for companies to print “low-fat,” “low-calorie” and “low-sodium” on products, but the study found that many of these foods were less nutritious than regular foods.

Bottom line? If food packaging says “low” anything, compare against the competition before putting it in your cart.

WINTER 201734

WEBSITE

More (Healthy) Mac and Cheese, PleaseThink outside the box! Visit the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics at eatright.org and search “Better Mac and Cheese Recipe” for a healthier variation of this favorite.

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Pap tests detect HPV.

FALSE. Pap tests check for abnormal cells in the cervix, which may indicate the presence of cervical cancer. HPV testing checks for human papillomavirus infection, which is the main cause of cervical cancer.

The American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends Pap tests every three years for women ages 21 to 29. For women 30 and older, a Pap test with an HPV test is recommended every fi ve years.

COLORECTAL RISK SPIKING IN THE YOUNGThanks to increased awareness about the lifesaving eff ectiveness of screening, turning 50 has become synonymous with colonos-copy. And while increased screening is cred-ited for the impressive drop in colorectal cancer rates in recent years, a study pub-lished in the Journal of the National Cancer Institute reveals a baffl ing and troubling trend: Colorectal cancer rates are on the rise for adults in their 20s and 30s. Additionally, 1 in 3 rectal cancers will strike people younger than 55.

Researchers noted that the surge in colorectal cancer parallels the obesity epi-demic, suggesting that excess body fat and sedentary lifestyle may play a role.

What’s the takeaway? Eat healthier, be more active and talk to your doctor about earlier screening, especially if you have a family history of colorectal cancer.

A KNEE TRENDTO KNOW ABOUT Anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) tears in children and adolescents have climbed 2.3 percent per year from 1994 to 2013—a trend that has researchers calling for renewed attention to injury-prevention programs. Female injuries outpaced male injuries, and data show that 16-year-old girls are especially vulnerable to injury.

Whether this trend is driven by the heavier demands of year-round sports, increased female participation in sports, better screening or all of the above, parents of athletes should talk with their child’s pediatrician about injury prevention.

HOLIDAY HEALTH

15 MILLION

American adults suff er from depression

each year, and the holidays can heighten

feelings of sadness and anxiety. Take care of yourself, and check in on people you love.

Only

40PERCENT

of the U.S. population gets the fl u vaccine.

Wash your hands often between hugs

and handshakes.

More than

40,000PEOPLEdied in traffi c

accidents in 2016. If you’re traveling for the holidays,

buckle up and don’t text.

Sources: WebMD, National Safety Council, Anxiety and Depression

Association of America

WINTER 2017 35

WORKOUTS THAT WORK:INTERVAL TRAINING

High-intensity interval training, known in fitness circles simply as HIIT, burns loads of calories in a short time. The training involves alternating vigorous work periods with lower-exertion recovery periods.

Here’s how HIIT can help your health:3HEART: Improves blood pressure, cholesterol levels and overall

cardiovascular health3MUSCLES: Improves insulin sensitivity, which helps exercising

muscles convert blood sugar to energy3WAIST: Burns fat and calories while maintaining muscle mass—

so both abdominal fat and body weight take a “HIIT”

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HIIT in a nutshell: Work really hard for a short time, then rest.

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A CURE FOR HEPATITIS C?The hepatitis C virus may one day be a thing of the past in the United States, thanks to new oral medications that are curing the disease in about 95 percent of people studied.

Previously, hepatitis C was treated with injections that caused severe side effects and, worst of all, often weren’t effective in clearing the virus.

Not only do the new oral medications appear to cure hepatitis C in the vast major-ity of patients, but treatment can also be completed in as little as 12 weeks. And the medication, called Harvoni, has only mild side effects, such as headache, fatigue and nausea, says Veronica Smalheiser, a board-certified nurse practitioner at Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group.

Up to 5 million Americans have the hepatitis C virus, but many do not know it because the virus often silently harms the liver without symptoms for years.

“The U.S. Preventive Task Force recom-mends screenings for people born between 1945 and 1965 or those who have had a blood transfusion before 1992 or used IV drugs in the past,” Smalheiser says.

DOWNLOAD

Hidden HepatitisCould you have hepatitis and not know it? Visit cdc.gov/hepatitis/ riskassessment and get a per-sonalized report to share with your doctor.

TAVR , or transcatheter aortic valve replacement, is shorthand for a minimally invasive surgical procedure in which a replacement valve is inserted into a patient’s damaged aortic (heart) valve. It’s similar to a stent placed in an artery, and it can be performed through small openings. In the past, traditional valve replace-ment required open-heart surgery.

JARGON WATCH

WHAT ARE THE ODDS

of a child outgrowing a

peanut allergy?

About 1 in 5 children with a peanut allergy will outgrow it. The

rate of peanut allergies more than tripled

from 1997 to 2008. Researchers are not sure why this spike

has occurred.

LUNG CANCER SCREENING REMAINS LOWIf everyone eligible for lung cancer screening got it, 12,000 deaths could be prevented each year in the U.S.

Yet screening rates remain low, according to research published in JAMA Oncology. In fact, researchers found that just 262,700 out of 6.8 million people eligible for lung cancer screening in 2015 had the potentially lifesaving test done.

Talk to your doctor about a low-dose CT scan to screen for lung cancer if you:3Are 55 to 74 years old3 Have a 30-pack-year smoking history (i.e., a pack a day for

30 years or two packs a day for 15 years)3Still smoke or have quit in the past 15 years3Are healthy enough to undergo cancer treatment

WINTER 2017 37

THE TRUTH BY SHELLEY FLANNERYPH

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Painkillers do a lot of good and a lot of harm.

THE TRUTH ABOUT

OPIOIDSDo these powerful painkillers have a place in modern medicine?

When your doctor writes you a prescription, you expect to find relief, not a new set of problems. But an increasing number of Americans are becoming

addicted to opioid analgesics, often called painkillers. Prescription opioid use has skyrocketed over the past two

decades, and overdoses have followed suit. Between 1999 and 2015, prescription opioid overdoses quadrupled, leaving more than 183,000 Americans dead. What can be done to curb the epidemic? It starts with awareness.

TRUE OR FALSE:Opioid analgesics are recommended for treating chronic pain.

FALSE. Opioid analgesics don’t cure pain; they instead increase a per-son’s pain threshold and reduce the perception of that pain. They are highly effective at treating acute pain, which is temporary pain resulting from an injury or surgery. They are not recom-mended for chronic pain that persists well after a wound has healed or has no identifiable cause, as opioid use comes with a high risk of tolerance (needing to take more to get the same results).

WINTER 201738

TRUE OR FALSE:The chances of getting addicted to an opioid pain medication are low.

FALSE. Nearly a quarter of Americans who are prescribed opioids for chronic pain will become addicted, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

“The essence of the problem is that people who take opioids often develop a tolerance to the medication, so they have to increase the dose,” says Jianguo Cheng, MD, president-elect of the American Academy of Pain Medicine. “When the dose is increased, adverse side effects also increase.”

Those adverse effects include physi-cal dependence, increased sensitivity to pain, nausea, sleepiness, depression and respiratory problems that can lead to death.

TRUE OR FALSE:Opioid painkillers can be used safely.

TRUE. Despite their risks, opioid analgesics do have a place in medicine.

“Using a relatively small dose for a short time helps maintain function and control acute pain so patients can do their jobs and take care of their families,” Cheng says. “Those patients are the ones who can benefit from this therapy.”

For example, opioids are commonly prescribed for a specified time when healing after surgery.

TRUE OR FALSE:Opioid use among teenagers is rising.

FALSE. Opioid use among teens has ebbed and flowed over the past several decades. Teen use rose in the

1980s, fell in the ’90s and rose again in the early 2000s. But since 2013, opioid use among teens has dropped. Still, Cheng encourages parents to be vigi-lant with teenagers and intervene when necessary.

“Teens may gain access to opioids through family members, peers and others on the street,” he says. “Parents should be mindful.”

Research has shown that teens usu-ally use opioids they are prescribed, for medical reasons, before they abuse them through nonmedical use.

TRUE OR FALSE:Most people who abuse opi-oids switch to heroin when they can’t get pills.

FALSE. Heroin is an opioid street drug that is chemically very similar to prescription opioids. It can even be cheaper and easier to get in many com-munities. And it’s true that heroin use is almost always precipitated by pre-scription opioid abuse. In fact, about 80 percent of heroin users start with opioid pain medications, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. But that doesn’t mean all prescription drug abusers will go on to use heroin. Only about 4 percent of abusers make that leap. �

WINTER 2017 39

OPIOID ALTERNATIVES Not only can opioids be dangerous, but research from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also suggests long-term use yields “insuf-ficient” benefits.

“If you take opioids for an extended period of time, not only can they be addictive, you’re also likely to build up a tolerance to the drug,” says Mary Beth Donovan, a board-certified acute care nurse practitioner at Beaufort Memorial Primary Care. “In addition, they can cause constipation and make you sleepy.”

Instead, she recommends other pain management options.

“I prefer more conservative treatments like massage, physical therapy, exercise or non-opioid medications,” Donovan says. “For neuropathic pain, I prescribe anti-inflammatory meds.”

Chronic pain sufferers may bene-fit from dry-needle therapy, weight loss, yoga and steroid injections.

“Opioids can be useful to treat acute pain,” Donovan says, “but only on a very limited basis. If a patient has tried several medica-tion regimens and conservative options have not helped, we may refer them to a pain manage-ment specialist.”

VIDEO

See Stories of HopeOpioid abuse doesn’t have to end in overdose. Watch several personal stories of survivors in videos from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on YouTube using #RxProblem.

HOW TO BY JEANNIE NUSSPH

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There’s no shortage of stress in our world.

So perhaps it’s no surprise that meditation—a mind and body practice that dou-bles as a great stress reliever—is catching on.

Some 18 million American adults have used meditation, according to the most recent sta-tistics available from the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health.

More people are trying it, but, of course, meditation isn’t new. It has been around for thousands of years and has grown in popularity in the United States in recent decades.

HOW TO

MEDITATESitting still seems hard. But with patience and practice, you can find a feeling of calm and relaxation

You don’t need perfect form or a perfect place to take a moment for yourself.

WINTER 201740

“It has a very long history of use to help people become calm and have physical relaxation,” says Wen Chen, PhD, acting branch chief of NCCIH’s Basic and Mechanistic Research in Complementary and Integrative Health.

The benefits don’t stop at relaxation, either. Research suggests that medita-tion may reduce blood pressure, irrita-ble bowel syndrome symptoms, anxiety and depression, and insomnia.

Read on to learn how to start your own mindfulness meditation practice.

Find a quiet place.Meditation is all about focus-

ing on the mind and body, but that’s hard to do if you’re busy worrying about street noise from outside or the dings and chirps from your phone. So silence all devices and seek a quiet space where you can begin your prac-tice with as few distractions as possi-ble. “You want to have a quiet moment so you can focus on the inner body,” Chen says.

Get comfortable—literally.

Find a position that works for you. That may be a seated, cross-legged position, but it doesn’t have to be. You can also lie down or even walk around while meditating. “Meditation is not really about how you sit,” Chen says. “It’s just so you feel comfortable so you don’t feel distracted by the discomfort.”

Focus. Even in a quiet place and in a comfortable position,

being mindful and focusing your atten-tion can seem daunting at first. But

there are plenty of ways to sharpen your focus. “Sometimes people focus on chosen words” or phrases, Chen says. “Many forms of meditation ask people to focus on the sensation of breath.” Another option is to focus on your body, slowly scanning from head to toe.

Don’t be so hard on yourself.As you’re meditating, you

will get distracted—and that’s OK. “It’s very hard to focus on one thing for a long time,” Chen says. Sometimes people get stressed out because they are distracted, but it’s important to accept that the mind will wander, and that’s fine. “Let the distractions come and go naturally without saying, ‘Oh darn,’�” Chen says. “You don’t need to be judgmental.”

Keep at it.“It’s one thing to do medita-tion once in your lifetime,”

Chen says. “It’s another thing to do it every single day.” So, to make the most of meditation, carve out some time every week and make it a habit. The payoff? Studies suggest that regular meditation may change parts of the brain that are responsible for every-thing from memory to fear. �

WINTER 2017 41

COLORING FOR RELAXATION Mindfulness. It sounds so simple. But for some people, staying focused on the present moment can be a chal-lenge. Their minds are being bom-barded with thoughts of work, the kids and every random task on their to-do lists.

If you’re having trouble clearing your head and focusing on the present moment, try coloring. Turns out the childhood activity that kept us busy on rainy days is a great form of meditation for adults.

“It’s a different way to think about nothing,” says Alexa DeFeo, Beaufort Memorial LifeFit Wellness Services

community health educator. “It’s very relaxing when you need a mental break.”

Adult coloring books are avail-able at most general merchandise stores. You also can find free coloring pages online.

“Most adult coloring pages have intricate designs and patterns, requir-ing you to concentrate to stay inside the lines,” DeFeo says. “Even doing it for five minutes can be very calming.”

If coloring is too old-school for you, try a free meditation app like Insight Timer. It has more than 4,500 guided meditations and 750 music medita-tion tracks.

WEBSITE

Can It Help You? Learn more about meditation, its benefits and conditions it may improve at nccih.nih.gov/health/meditation. Select “Meditation: In Depth.”

QUIZ BY JENNIFER SMITH

Is your stomach going to pay later for a little dairy now?

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FREAK OUT OR CHILL OUT?When it comes to digestive troubles, it can be tricky to tell exactly what ails you

Sometimes, we have a little rum-ble. A little grumble. A bit of an upset stomach. Look, there’s no

need to be embarrassed. We all have digestive issues on occasion.

The next time you run for the antacids to soothe your heartburn or wonder what’s with all that gas, know that you’re not alone. Digestive issues are common and often easily treatable. With the help of J. Sumner Bell III, MD, a gastroenterologist and fellow with the American Gastroenterological Association, we’ll help you sort out whether your belly issues need a closer look from your doctor.

WINTER 201742

Q Every morning after you eat your cereal and drink your latte, you feel bloated. Most days you have diar-

rhea, too. You’re really tired of starting each day feeling terrible. Is it: Lactose intolerance or Crohn’s disease?LACTOSE INTOLERANCE. Lactose intolerance is common, Bell says. There are other symptoms that might tip the scales toward a Crohn’s diagnosis, including blood in your stool and abdominal pain that’s persistent. Skin rashes and perianal disease (that’s inflammation around the anus) might also prompt a physician to consider a Crohn’s diagnosis. There’s an easy way to see whether it’s lactose causing the problems, though.

“The simplest test is to go home and drink two glasses of milk and tell me what happens,” Bell says he tells his patients.

Q Your body is usually predictable when it comes to morning bowel movements, but that hasn’t been

the case lately. In fact, you’re noticing all kinds of changes in your bowel habits. Your diet hasn’t been great lately, and you know you’re not getting enough fiber. And now your belly is tender, so you’re starting to worry. Is it: Diverticulitis or colon cancer?DIVERTICULITIS. “When adults have abdominal pain or a change in bowel habits or blood in their stool, they might worry they have colon cancer,” Bell says. “It’s the second most common type of cancer.”

But abdominal pain and tender-ness and even a change in bowel hab-its can be markers for diverticulitis, or inflammation of the sacs of the

lining in the large intestine. Increasing the amount of fiber you eat could decrease your risk of flare-ups. And if you notice blood in your stool, see a physician. That could signal something more serious.

Q Holy Toledo, are you having seri-ous heartburn after that work potluck, or what? A potluck

encourages you to try a little bit of everything, but you should’ve passed on the casserole. The heartburn is so bad that even your chest hurts. Is it: Acid reflux or a heart attack?PROBABLY ACID REFLUX, but don’t guess. If you’re experiencing anything that might resemble a heart attack, you should treat it like a heart attack—especially women, who can have atypi-cal symptoms, Bell says. Where men can have pronounced left-arm pain and sharper chest pain during a heart attack, women don’t always. Better check it out with your doctor or at an emergency department right away to be on the safe side.

Q You had been at the ballfield all day for the kids’ games when your back started to ache. It’s mostly

in your lower back, and you have been sitting on metal bleachers all day. But you’ve also been eating the greasy fare from the concession stand. Is it: Gallbladder attack or muscle pain from the bleachers?BLAME THE BLEACHERS. Gallbladder pain does sometimes masquerade as back pain, but it’s pretty specific: It’s not fleeting, mean-ing it lasts 20 minutes or longer, and it mostly is isolated in the upper right quadrant of your back. It also often

is associated with large meals or fatty foods, Bell says.

“It could even awaken you from your sleep,” he adds of the discom-fort that often accompanies gallblad-der problems.

Q Your teenage son never met a pizza he didn’t like—and promptly devour. But he’s skipping pizza

night, saying it has been hard for him to swallow solid food. You’re alarmed, to say the least. Is it: Esophageal blockage or cancer?LIKELY A BLOCKAGE. That can mean many different, and surprisingly com-mon, things, Bell explains. It could be a food bolus, where food has gotten stuck and caused an obstruction. It could be something called eosinophilic esophagitis, which is a type of allergic reaction involving white blood cells in the esophagus (where there aren’t white blood cells, normally). Your doc-tor will know how best to figure out what’s causing his trouble and what steps to take next. �

WINTER 2017 43

WEBSITE

Know Your Gut Do you know where your pancreas is? How about your duodenum? Visit niddk.nih.gov/health-information/digestive-diseases/digestive-system-how-it-works for a handy guide and map of the gastrointes-tinal tract.

AT A GLANCE BY JEANNIE NUSS

PUMP IT UP A look at how strength training can benefi t your body and mind

We all know that exer-cise is good for us. But the type of exercise we

do matters. If your workout routine is all

cardio or aerobic exercises (think running, swimming, cycling and chugging away at the elliptical), adding strength training to the mix can make a major diff erence.

Strength or resistance train-ing can help you build muscles, burn fat and protect your joints, whether you’re using free weights, machines, resistance bands or body weight.

“Coupled with cardiovas-cular training like riding a bike

or running, it really helps to have a more total approach to overall wellness,” says Andrew Albano, DO, a member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees, recommending that adults perform muscle-strengthening activities two or more days a week in addition to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week.

How does strength training benefi t the whole body? Read on, and then consider hitting the weights.

MUSCLESThis one will seem obvious: Strength train-ing builds stronger muscles. But it’s helpful to think about how important this is in daily life. Muscles help us do everything from grocery shopping and picking up children to running a half-marathon. “It makes you more effi cient in doing the things that you do on a day-to-day basis,” Albano says.

A look at how strength training can benefi t your

or running, it really helps to have a more total approach to overall wellness,” says Andrew Albano, DO, a member of the American Medical Society for Sports Medicine.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention agrees, recommending that adults perform muscle-strengthening activities two or more days a week in addition to 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week.

How does strength training benefi t the whole body? Read on, and then consider hitting the weights.

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MINDStrength training, like other forms of exercise, has plenty of psychological benefi ts, Albano says. “It can be a very good way for individuals to get rid of work- or life-related stress,” he says. It also helps trigger a positive mood, can reduce the risk of depression and lead to better sleep.

JOINTSMuscles are “like the supporting archi-tecture around joints,” Albano says. So building stronger muscles through strength training means adding more support for joints. Plus, strength train-ing promotes calorie burn and fat loss, which can mean less stress on joints in the fi rst place. �

HEARTCardiac tissue is muscle tissue, too, Albano says, and just like other muscles, it reaps benefi ts from strength training. When you lift weights, you condition your heart to function better. That’s because when you work out, Albano adds, “your heart is essentially being stressed, but in a very good way,” and afterward, it’s able to pump more effi ciently.

WINTER 2017 45

VIDEO

Train at Home The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention website features videos showing easy strength training exercises to do at home. Go to cdc.gov and search “muscle strengthening at home.”

FdVVWI1700_44-45_AtAGlance.indd 45 7/26/17 10:42 AM

IN THE MARKET BY LEXI DWYER

Do you skip buying cab-bage at the supermarket because you aren’t sure

what to do with it besides serving it with corned beef on St. Patrick’s Day? It’s time to give it a shot: This leafy crop, a good source of vitamins like C, K and B-6, is too nutritious to be neglected.

“All cabbage is good for you. It’s high in fiber and has cancer-fighting properties, but the red cabbage spe-cifically has anthocyanins, which act as anti-inflammatories,” says Frances Largeman-Roth, a registered dietitian and nutritionist and the author of Eating in Color. She adds that cooked cabbage has also been shown to lower cholesterol (the fiber basically trans-ports it out of the body), but since heating it can reduce other nutrients, it’s best to include both raw and cooked cabbage in your diet.

Although cabbage may be available during late summer and fall, it reaches peak sweetness during winter. Choose heads that feel firm and have crisp, tightly closed leaves. Cabbage will keep for about one week in the crisper drawer (wrap it in plastic before stor-ing). Here are Largeman-Roth’s three favorite ways to prepare it:

THREE WAYS TO COOK

CABBAGEForget the smelly stu� Grandma used to boil. When properly prepared, these nutritious leaves can be sweet, crisp and surprisingly tasty

PHO

TO BY TH

INKSTO

CK

2 COOK IT SLOWLY Largeman-Roth’s sweet-and-sour cabbage is an

homage to her mother’s German roots. Start by shred-ding an entire head of cabbage. In a large saucepan, combine the cabbage with olive oil, two apples (peeled and cored), and seasonings such as juniper berries, allspice berries, cloves, a bay leaf, red currant jelly, bal-samic vinegar and a touch of light brown sugar. Cook on the stovetop over low heat for 40 minutes.

1�TURN IT INTO SALADShred a head of raw cabbage and combine it

with carrots, red or yellow bell pepper, and cilantro. To help it appeal to kids, Largeman-Roth calls this dish “rainbow salad” and adds a delicious, tot-friendly dress-ing made with honey, fresh orange juice, apple cider vinegar, olive oil and Dijon mustard.

3 FERMENT IT Largeman-Roth calls sauerkraut, which contains

both prebiotics and probiotics, “the perfect food to boost gut health.” Making your own is simple: First, finely slice a head of cabbage. Put it in a bowl with one tablespoon of sea salt and massage it with your fingers for about 10 minutes to release its liquid. Pack the cabbage into a large, clean canning jar, making sure it’s completely submerged (some cooks use a mini canning jar filled with clean marbles to weigh it down). Let it ferment for up to 10 days, depending on your taste preferences, before storing in the refrigerator, where it will keep for about two months.

WINTER 201746

APP

More VeggiesCabbage stuffed with lentils and no-mayo slaw are just two of the tasty dishes that are part of the How to Cook Everything Vegetarian app (iTunes), which has more than 2,000 meatless recipes and is adapted from the award-winning cookbook by New York Times columnist Mark Bittman.

CABBAGE 101Not all cabbage is created equal: Here’s a breakdown of the most popular varieties.

RED This nutrient-rich plant will have either a pur-plish or bluish appearance, depending on the pH of the soil where it’s grown.

SAVOY This green variety is known for its distinctively crinkled leaves, which are tender and mildly fla-vored, making them ideal for salads and slaws.

NAPA It’s easy to spot a napa (or Chinese) cabbage: Look for its elongated shape and light green leaves, which are white at the base. It has a slightly peppery taste and is often stir-fried.

BOK CHOY Another type of Chinese cabbage, bok choy has dark green leaves that fan out rather than form a head.

So purple, so tasty.

WINTER 2017 47

HEALTH BY THE NUMBERS BY ALLISON THOMASILLU

STRATION

BY THIN

KSTOCK

WINTER 201748

TAKING CANCER DOWN

SOURCE: American Cancer Society, Cancer Facts & Figures 2017

25% Overall cancer death rates declined by 25 percent—translating to more than 2.1 million fewer deaths—between 1991 and 2014. This progress is refl ected in falling death rates for the four most common types of cancer.

COLORECTAL

50%from 1975 to 2014

LUNG

43%in men since 1990

LUNG

17%in women since 2002

BREAST

38%from 1989 to 2014

PROSTATE

3%annually since 1999

THE NEXT FRONTIER IN THE CANCER FIGHTHow do we keep cancer death rates trending downward? Board-certified medical oncologist Marcus Newberry, MD, of Beaufort Memorial Oncology Specialists, walks us through two of the biggest challenges to continued progress.

1. TOBACCO: Reductions in smoking have driven cancer rates down significantly in the past two decades, but some areas of the country haven’t seen enough progress. “South Carolina ranks 13th in the country in smoking,” Newberry says. “We talk to patients about the health risks, but they don’t always listen.”

One study showed patients who are told by their doctor to quit follow the advice 2 percent of the time. If the discussion is prolonged, the success rate increases to just 3 percent.

2. OBESITY. Obesity increases the risk of several cancers, and its prevalence in U.S.

adults has more than doubled since the late 1970s. (While many people think obesity is plateauing in adults, it’s actually still surging among U.S. women.)

“Low-fat foods are a big seller at the grocery store, but they have not been proven to help prevent cancer recurrence or aid in weight loss,” Newberry says. “Foods low in added sug-ars are far more effective for weight loss.”

To reduce your cancer risk, Newberry says, the best tack to take is to exercise regularly and eat a healthy, plant-based diet that’s low in carbohydrates.

Weight management is especially impor-tant for breast cancer survivors. Newberry says the risk of recurrence goes up if you gain weight after surgery. Each drink of alcohol you have a day also increases your odds of developing a new cancer.

CALL

Get Screened for Lung Cancer If you’re a former or cur-rent heavy smoker, talk to your physician about low-dose CT lung cancer screening, now available at BMH. For more informa-tion, call 843-522-LUNG (5864). You can read more about the program in the story on page 49.

Retired police offi cer Mike Binkowski discovered he had lung cancer after having a low-dose CT scan.

Thanks to Beaufort Memorial’s new low-dose lung cancer screening

program, Mike Binkowski discovered his lung cancer early,

when it was easily treatable

EASYBREATHING

Mike Binkowski knew all the health risks of smoking ciga-rettes. His primary care phy-

sician had been urging him to kick the habit since he began seeing him for annual checkups 10 years ago. It was the same spiel every year.

“I was pretty frank with him,” says board-certifi ed internal medicine specialist Steven Kessel, MD, of Beaufort Memorial Primary Care. “I told him he wasn’t going to live long if he kept on smoking.”

The admonitions were well-received, but Binkowski mostly ignored them.

“I tried to quit a couple of times,” the 68-year-old Beaufort resident says. “Chantix and the patch didn’t work for me. Truth is, I wasn’t committed to the idea.”

Even a heart attack and triple bypass surgery didn’t motivate him to break his 50-year addiction.

Mike Binkowski

WINTER 2017 49

“Back then, everyone in the movies smoked,” Binkowski recalls. “There were no warnings on cigarettes. All my friends were doing it, so I did it, too.”

He smoked during the four years he served with the Marine Corps military police and stepped up his cigarette habit even more during his 25 years with the Beaufort Police Department.

“Two of the main food groups for cops are nicotine and caffeine,” Binkowski quips. “I’d light up a cigarette as soon as I got in my car or sat down

The former Marine and longtime police officer was undeterred—until a tiny spot appeared on his lung. The 1.6-centimeter lesion was discovered on a low-dose CT lung cancer screening scan taken May 31 at Beaufort Memorial Hospital. A biopsy confirmed it was lung cancer.

Fortunately, the stage 1 tumor was found early, before it had spread to lymph nodes or other parts of his body.

It also had a beneficial side effect.“Fear,” says Binkowski, now a part-

time security officer at Dataw Island. “That’s what finally got me to quit.”

BREAKING BAD HABITSThe New Jersey native was 16 years old when he tried his first cigarette.

for a cup of coffee.”He cut back to one pack a day after

retiring from the force at the age of 55. And after his heart attack, he began having annual checkups.

Given his smoking history, Kessel sent him for a chest X-ray every couple of years. The test can detect larger, more advanced lung tumors, but it is far less effective at catching early-stage tumors.

In 2011, a large national study found that low-dose computed tomography

Mike Binkowski says cross-stitching is a great stress reliever.

“They really worked fast to get it diagnosed and

treated ... It made me feel good that they were

actively and aggressively treating it.”

WINTER 201750

THE FACTS ON LOW-DOSE CT LUNG CANCER SCREENINGEach year, an estimated 156,000 people die from lung cancer, making it the leading cancer killer of both men and women in the United States. The biggest risk factor for the disease is smoking.

Scientists have found annual screenings using a low-dose chest CT can reduce the risk of lung cancer death by 20 percent in current and former heavy smokers, compared with those who were screened using a chest X-ray.

LDCT is quick and pain-less and exposes patients to a minimal amount of radiation. It can be per-formed while you are fully clothed and requires no medication, needles or dietary restrictions. The only requirement is that you hold your breath for about six seconds while the chest scan is being taken.

“Less than 24 hours after you have the test, the results will be sent to your physician,” says Matthew Hurtt, Beaufort

Memorial’s advanced imaging manager and LDCT screening program coordinator. “One in five patients will have a screening that requires further studies.”

Medicare Part B covers the cost of the test once per year. Most health insurance companies also will pay for it. Beaufort Memorial offers competi-tive pricing for the service and will work with patients who are uninsured or have a healthcare plan that doesn’t cover the test.

CALL

Getting ScreenedYour doctor can schedule a screening for you or provide you with a referral for testing. For more information on LDCT lung cancer screening, call 843-522-LUNG (5864).

(LDCT) provides more detailed pictures than X-rays and is bet-ter at finding small abnormal areas in the lungs. It is the only diagnostic medical test clinically proven to reduce lung cancer mortality in current and former heavy smokers.

PROVEN PREVENTIVE CAREBoth the American College of Radiology and the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force now recommend annual low-dose CT screenings if you are 55 to 77 years of age, currently smoke or have quit within the past 15 years, and have a smoking history of at least 30 “pack years,” meaning that you smoked a pack a day for 30 years, or two packs a day for 15, or any other combination of packs and years totaling 30.

This spring, Beaufort Memorial introduced a lung cancer screening program designed to provide a faster pathway to lung cancer detec-tion and treatment. The new program has been named a

Screening Center of Excellence by the Lung Cancer Alliance for providing safe, high-quality LDCT screening for lung cancer.

When Binkowski told Kessel he didn’t feel right at his annual checkup in May, the primary care physician decided to refer him for a LDCT screening.

“This is a guy who helped wrestle an alligator out of a lake,” Kessel says. “He’s a tough nut. He’s not going to complain about something minor.”

The scan revealed a spot on the right upper lobe of his lung. Within days, Binkowski was scheduled for a needle biopsy. The test confirmed it was cancer. Less than a week later, he met with board-certified medical oncologist Majd Chahin, MD, of Beaufort Memorial Medical

Oncology, who had treated Binkowski’s wife for a metastatic melanoma.

STREAMLINED DIAGNOSIS AND TREATMENTAfter a PET scan showed the cancer had not spread beyond the lung, Chahin recommended that Binkowski undergo a minimally invasive lung resection at the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC), Beaufort Memorial’s partnering tertiary hospital. He would not need chemotherapy or radiation once the affected portion of the lung was removed.

“I have a very strong faith and had confidence in Dr. Chahin,” Binkowski says. “I took the same approach I did as a police officer. If you have a problem, you attack it aggressively. You don’t back away.”

The surgery was performed June 30, just one month after the cancer was detected with the low-dose CT scan.

“They really worked fast to get it diag-nosed and treated,” Binkowski says. “It made me feel good they were actively and aggressively treating it.”

He gave up cigarettes the day he was diagnosed with lung cancer and hasn’t picked one up since. Now, when he meets his friends or son for coffee at the Huddle House, he pops a mint in his mouth if he feels the urge to light up.

Crisis averted, he’s back enjoying his favorite hobby—cross-stitching.

“Yeah, I know, it doesn’t sound like something a cop would do,” says Binkowski, who carries his cross-stitch-ing projects with him in a briefcase. “But I can listen to audiobooks when I’m cross-stitching and block the world out. It’s a great stress reliever.” ■

WINTER 2017 51

dVVWI1799_49-51_LungCancer.indd 51 9/19/17 5:42 PM

Dan Hodges

ROCKA Lady’s Island

drummer is back in the rhythm after receiving lifesaving

treatment for a critical gastrointestinal

condition at Beaufort Memorial Hospital ON

WINTER 201752

Dan Hodges and his wife, LouiseA fter spending the weekend

celebrating Clemson’s big win against the University of South Carolina last fall,

Dan Hodges woke up feeling a little under the weather.

“We had a big day—lots of tailgat-ing,” the Clemson alumnus recalls. “I thought I was just tired.”

Even when he began having rectal bleeding, he wasn’t concerned.

“I’ve had colon bleeds before,” the 60-year-old says. “They usually go away in 48 hours.”

But after Hodges experienced his sixth bleed of the day, his blood pres-sure dropped dangerously, and he collapsed on the fl oor. His wife, Louise, called 911.

Hodges was taken to the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Pratt Emergency Center and was admitted to the hospi-tal the next morning. But while being wheeled in for a diagnostic test, he passed out. The nurse called a Code Blue, summoning Beaufort Memorial’s rapid response team.

INTENSIVE CAREHospitalist Linda Hawes, MD, ordered two units of blood for Hodges and had him taken to the intensive care unit.

“He was very scared,” says Megan Swartz, the critical care nurse who responded to the call. “I told him what we were doing to stabilize him, which made him feel better.”

STATE-OF-THE-ART CRITICAL CARETo improve the care of patients with life-threatening illnesses or injuries, Beaufort Memorial recently completed a $5 million remodeling and expansion of its intensive care unit. As part of the extensive renovation, rooms were equipped with state-of-the-art cardiac monitors, lift equipment and specials beds.

Four of the 12 rooms have an overhead boom system to accommodate attachments and accessories needed to support critical patient care. With medical gases connected to the ceiling-mounted boom rather than a wall, the bed can be moved easily to allow access to the patient’s head and airway during a code.

Rather than having a hospitalist on-call as needed, the unit now has a dedicated intensivist, a board-certifi ed physician trained in the care of critically ill patients.

“Every minute counts when a patient is coding,” says ICU registered nurse Megan Swartz. “It makes a big diff erence having an intensivist at the bedside.”

APPOINTMENTS

Having GI Issues?To make an appointment with a Beaufort Memorial gastroen-terology specialist, call Beaufort Memorial Lowcountry Medical Group at 843-770-0404.

Over the next two days Hodges would undergo a colonoscopy and an angio-gram, a minimally invasive procedure used to fi nd the source of bleeding by injecting a special dye through a cath-eter inserted in the right femoral artery. The point of bleeding could not be clearly identifi ed, but it appeared to be coming from the right colon. To help stop the bleeding, he was given vasocon-strictor medication.

“He did well for a couple of days,” Swartz says. “The bleeding stopped.”

GETTING IT DONEThen one night, he had a massive hemor-rhage. The attending critical care phy-sician inserted a central line in his left femoral artery to rapidly deliver blood. Perry Burrus, MD, of Beaufort Memorial Surgical Specialists, was called in to perform a colon resection.

“Conservative measures had failed,” Burrus says. “We needed to get him into

the OR quickly. He was having poten-tially life-threatening bleeding.”

After meeting Burrus, Hodges and his wife felt “nothing but confi dence in his ability.”

A board-certifi ed general surgeon who has been on the hospital staff for 24 years, Burrus has performed many colon operations.

AND THE BEAT GOES ONDuring the laparoscopic procedure to remove a section of Hodges’ small intestine, Burrus discovered a Meckel’s diverticulum, an abnormal pouch in the small intestine present from birth.

“It could have been causing the bleed-ing,” Burrus says.

Since it was removed, Hodges has had no more gastrointestinal hemorrhaging.

“They saved my life,” the father of two says. “The care I received was phenomenal. Dr. Burrus is a remarkable surgeon, and the ICU staff was on top of their game. As sick as I was, I’m back to my normal activities.”

By day, Hodges and his wife run Greenbug, an all-natural pest control company. By night, he plays drums with several rock bands.

“Drumming is my passion,” he says. “I missed it during the 10 weeks of my recovery. When I fi nally got back to playing, I was afraid I wouldn’t be able to get through a set, but it was like I had never stopped. I didn’t skip a beat.” ■

WINTER 2017 53

FOUNDATION-BUILDING

A WELL-EARNED RETIREMENTAlice Moss spent decades building the BMH Foundation from the ground up

WINTER 201754

Alice Moss and longtime Valentine Ball supporters Weezie Gibson and Becky Trask review memorabilia from past Valentine Balls in preparation for the 25th anniversary ball in 2014.

Growing up the daughter of a country doctor in rural North Carolina, Alice Moss

had no aspiration to follow in her father’s footsteps. But despite her lack of interest in the medical profession as a youth, she would spend the greater part of her career working, like her dad, to help improve the health and wellness of her community.

In June, Moss retired as executive director of the Beaufort Memorial Hospital Foundation, and was succeeded by Deborah Schuchmann, previously the Foundation’s director of special gifts. For nearly three decades, Moss had served as the standard-bearer for charitable giving, helping raise $30 mil-lion for the only not-for-profi t hospital in the area.

It was a vocation she happened upon after moving to Beaufort in 1988 with her husband and two children.

A graduate of the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a bachelor’s degree in American studies and a mas-ter’s in regional planning, Moss started her career as a water quality and land use planner. She was working in North Carolina, administering a Community Development Block Grant program, when her husband landed a job in the Lowcountry.

Perusing the help wanted classifi eds in the local newspaper, she spotted an ad for a new position at Beaufort Memorial Hospital.

“They were looking for someone who could launch a fundraising organization for the hospital,” Moss says. “I had experience working with boards and developing programs, so it was a com-fortable thing for me to do.”

Hired initially as a part-time employee, she set up an offi ce in an unused room

in Beaufort Memorial’s surgical suite. From those humble beginnings, she built a department of seven employees who would go on to manage a wide range of fundraising ventures, including a $15 mil-lion endowment fund.

Over the years, the Foundation has contributed to every facet of the hospi-tal, from the Keyserling Cancer Center to the Cochrane Heart Center. It has provided funding to purchase pediatric rehabilitation equipment for HealthLink for Children, all of the exercise machines in the LifeFit Wellness Center, nine advanced ventilators for the ICU, cut-ting-edge 3-D mammography (breast tomosynthesis) for the Breast Health Center and much more.

To achieve that kind of success required the support of both the com-munity and hospital employees. Getting everyone on board took some doing.

“Beaufort Memorial started out as a county hospital, so there was this per-ception that it was for poor people,” Moss recalls. “It was an image we had to overcome.”

Moss also had diffi culty convincing the hospital’s management team of the need for a foundation.

“Up until then, there had never been any hospital-sponsored fundraising,” she says.

It seemed even Mother Nature was putting up roadblocks. Moss’ plans for the fi rst major fundraiser had to be

WINTER 2017 55

canceled when Hurricane Hugo hit the Lowcountry in the fall of 1989. The fol-lowing year, the Foundation hosted what would become its signature fundraising event—the Valentine Ball. Over the last 27 years, the wildly successful black-tie aff air has raised more than $4.6 million.

“It became our brand,” Moss says. “So many people think that’s all we do.”

Far from it. In addition to the Valentine Ball, Foundation staff members plan receptions at private homes, host donor recognition events, send out thank-you letters to contributors and meet with all new hospital employees to encourage them to participate in Our BMH, a payroll deduction giving program.

“Over the last 30 years, it has been impossible to think of the BMH Foundation without thinking also of Alice,” says Terry Murray, chair-man of the BMH Board of Directors. “She has been an incredibly eff ec-tive and passionate leader for the Foundation’s mission.”

Moss’ last offi cial day at the helm of the Foundation was June 16. Eager to

Alice Moss, Ray Brown and Catherine Bennett meet SimMan, a computerized patient simulator purchased for the hospital in 2011 with funds contributed by community members.

Alice Moss and Hugh Gouldthorpe, Foundation board chairman, present a check to Russell Baxley, BMH president & CEO, and Terry Murray, hospital board chairman, last April. The $597,808 check represents the Foundation’s 2017 contribution to BMH from its Endowment Fund.

enjoy her well-earned retirement, she set off almost immediately on a trip to Europe that included a cruise down the Rhine. She also attended the Montreux Jazz Festival in Switzerland.

“I plan to do a lot of traveling,” Moss says. “I’d also like to read more and take better care of myself. That includes using all that new equipment at the LifeFit Wellness Center.”

She plans to remain an active mem-ber of the Presbyterian Church of Beaufort and continue to sing with the Chancel Choir.

And after years of making up titles for books she’s always wanted to write, she’s fi nally going to put pen to paper.

“I’m getting together with my sister to work on something,” she says. “Writing the titles was the easy part.” ■

SAVE THE DATE

Valentine Ball Weekend 20183 A Cocktail Aff air

Friday, Feb. 96 p.m., Tabby Place

3 Valentine BallSaturday, Feb. 106:30 p.m., Tabby Place

For tickets or to learn more, visit valentineball.org or call 843-522-5774.

WINTER 201756

The BMH Foundation gratefully acknowledges the following tribute gifts received between May 1 and August 1, 2017. To make a tribute gift, please call 843-522-5774 or visit the

BMH Foundation page at beaufortmemorial.org.

TRIBUTES

IN HONOR OF Ms. Tatiana Barber

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermottDr. Norman Bettle

Mr. Henry P. Capdepon IIIKeyserling Cancer Center Staff

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermottBMH Fourth Floor Nursing Staff

Mrs. Mary SmithBMH Leadership Staff

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermottDr. Irina Borissova

Mr. and Mrs. Peter H. SingletonDr. Jonathan Briggs

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermottMiss Jackie Carr

Dr. and Mrs. Lawrence R. ColemanDr. Majd Chahin

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermottDr. Don Christian, Jr.

Mr. and Mrs. Charles James ForrestMrs. Connie Duke

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermottMs. Hannah Finn

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermottDr. Kurt Gambla

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermottMs. Pamela Godley

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermottDr. Steven R. Kessel

Mr. and Mrs. Roy W. Moore IIIMr. Kevin Kremer

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermottDr. Stephen Larson

Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermott

Mrs. Laurie Martin Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermott

Ms. Jennifer Massey Mr. and Mrs. Joseph McDermott

Dr. Paul Mazzeo Mr. Henry P. Capdepon III

Dr. Edward McNeil Mr. Joseph Stroman

Ms. Alice Moss Mr. and Mrs. John Lord

IN MEMORY OFMr. Clint Campbell

Mrs. Shirley MulhollandMs. Katie L. Coleman

Mr. and Mrs. William C. JamesMr. John Copley

Mr. and Mrs. James L. Smithson Mrs. Patricia Foulger

Dr. Kurt GamblaThe Leinster Family

Mrs. Olive WarrenfeltzMr. Harold Merrill

Mr. and Mrs. Ray Atherton Mrs. Barbara Bopp Dr. and Mrs. Thomas Briant Mr. Dave Cronin Ms. Kathlyn Gray Mr. and Mrs. Douglas Thompson Ms. Linda Turner Mr. and Mrs. David Zanone

Ms. Vernie Taylor King Street Church of Christ

BEAUFORTMEMORIAL.ORG

SAVE YOUR SPOT IN LINE, ONLINE.HEADING TO THE ER?

Not feeling well? We know the last thing you want to do is spend your time in a waiting room. Beaufort Memorial’s easy-to-use Online Check-in for the ER allows you to choose a time that works for you and do your waiting at home.