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Your Health
Sun Scare
The warmer weather means halter
tops, shorts and bathing suits.
With more skin being exposed
during the summer months, you
increase your chances for damage.
Some tips to stay protected from
the sun’s harmful rays:
Minimize your sun exposure
between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.,
when the sun is the strongest.
Use sunscreen with a SPF
(Sun Protection Factor) of at least
15 (30 is preferable). Apply
sunscreen 20 to 30 minutes before
going outside. Generously reapply
sunscreen after sweating,
swimming or toweling off.
Don’t think sunscreen is only
for sunny days. You can get
burned on cloudy days as well.
Be aware of surfaces that reflect
and intensify the sun’s rays,
including snow, sand, concrete
and water.
Ask your doctor about any
prescriptions you are taking that
may increase your sensitivity to
the sun.
Examine your skin from head
to toe at least once every three
months.
Don’t stop using sun
protection if you develop a
sunscreen allergy – try a new
brand or ask your doctor for a
product recommendation.
Don’t think that sunscreen is
your only protection against the
sun’s harmful rays – wear
protective clothing such as a
wide-brimmed hat, sunglasses
and a tightly woven T-shirt.
Don’t go to tanning booths.
Getting a “base tan” is unhealthy
and will not protect your from
burning in the sun.
Healthy adults should inspect
their skin regularly for any
changes to moles or skin lesions,
and should visit their
dermatologist annually.
Comparison Shopping
You compare prices, features, and
warranties for cars, refrigerators
and sofas – why not shop for a
hospital?
A recently-launched web site
allows consumers to compare
Pennsylvania hospitals in terms of
quality and outcomes. The
Pennsylvania Health Care Quality
Alliance (PHCQA), via its web
site, www.phcqa.org, provides
quality-related information in a
consistent and uniform manner
for 170 acute-care providers in
the state.
The PHCQA is a partnership
of hospitals, the Pennsylvania
Medical Society, the state’s four
Blue Cross/Blue Shield
Associations and state and federal
agencies.
The web site provides data in
four categories of performance:
the treatment of heart attacks,
heart failure, pneumonia, and for
the prevention of health careacquired
infections.
The report includes each
hospital’s specific rate, the
Pennsylvania rate, the United
States rate, and the rate for the
top 10 percent of hospitals in the
nation for items within each of
the four categories. One example
is the percent of pneumonia
patients who receive an antibiotic
within eight hours of arrival at
the hospital:
PA rate: 96.7%
U.S. rate:95.9%
Top 10% nationally: 100%
Local hospital rates
Canonsburg General Hospital:
97%
St. Clair Hospital: 98.4%
The Washington Hospital:
97.1%
Organizations that provide
quality performance and cost data
include:
Pennsylvania Health Care
Cost Containment Council – An
independent state agency that
provides data on quality, cost and
access. Web site: www.phc4.org
Hospital Compare – Run by
the federal government, it
provides data on quality and
timeliness of care. Website:
www.hospitalcompare.hhs.gov
The Agency for Healthcare
Research and Quality – Data
including mortality rates and
quality of care measures are
provided by this federal agency.
Web site: www.ahrq.gov
The Leapfrog Group – A
nonprofit agency that provides
patients safety data. Web site:
www.leapfroggroup.org
Quality Check – Managed by
The Joint Commission, a health
care accrediting agency, they
provide data on timeliness of
health care, quality of care
measures, and patient safety. Web
site: www.qualitycheck.org
Washington Hospital Gains
Silver Award
The Washington Hospital has
received the American Heart
Association’s Get With The
Guidelines–Coronary Artery
Disease (GWTG–CAD) Silver
Performance Achievement Award
for implementing a higher
standard of cardiac care that
effectively improves treatment of
patients hospitalized with
coronary artery disease.
Under GWTG–CAD,
patients are started on aggressive
risk reduction therapies such as
cholesterol-lowering drugs,
aspirin, ACE inhibitors and betablockers.
Hospitals that receive
the GWTG-CAD Silver
Performance Achievement Award
have demonstrated for at least one
year that 85 percent of their
coronary patients (without
contra-indications) are discharged
following the American Heart
Association’s recommended
treatment guidelines.
The American Heart
Association’s GWTG program is
designed to increase the use of
the association’s prevention
guidelines for coronary artery
disease. Developed to assist
healthcare professionals in
following proven standards and
procedures before patients are
discharged, the program can help
the Washington Hospital reduce
the risk of recurrent heart attacks
and death in treated patients.
According to the American
Heart Association, approximately
565,000 people suffer a new heart
attack and 300,000 experience a
recurrent heart attack each year.
Statistics also show that within
one year of a heart attack, 18
percent of men and 23 percent of
women will die. Within five years
after an attack, about 33 percent
of men and 43 percent of women
will die.
Top 10 Causes of Death
in the U.S.
• Heart Disease
• Cancer
• Stroke
• Respiratory Diseases
• Accidents
• Diabetes
• Alzheimer’s
• Flu & Pneumonia
• Kidney Diseases
• Septicemia
Truffles, Anyone?
You may be in for back surgery,
but this doesn’t mean you have to
accept the hospital’s cafeteria
food. In fact, hospitals are
beginning to realize the potential
benefits of feeding their patients
the kind of gourmet cuisine only
available in the finest restaurants.
Thus, St. Clair Hospital has
partnered with Cura Hospitality
to open the region’s first finedining
program in a hospital in
western PA. Part of an emerging
national trend, the new offering
includes fresh food, locally grown,
cooked to order, and even a menu
concierge.
The new menu is designed to
help speed the healing process
while tasting vastly better than
food typically served in hospitals.
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