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Ask Dr. StorBetter
Posted on
May 17, 2012 by
Dr. StorBetter
In early May of 2012 Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, introduced a new feature on the social media site to encourage organ donation. The feature encourages users to register as organ donors and then share the information their networks via their Timelines.
It was announced as a way to boost awareness of the shortage of viable organs for those who need them. Over 110,000 people are currently on the waiting list and eighteen people die daily for lack of a donor. One donor can save as many as eight lives so the benefit of being a donor is clear.
According to Donate Life America, a nonprofit group partnering with Facebook, more than 90 percent of Americans support organ donation but only 42 percent are registered donors. By the end of the first day after the announcement 10,000 people had enrolled through 22 state registries. On a normal day those states together see less than 400 sign up.
The response “dwarfs any past organ donation initiative,” said David Fleming, chief executive of Donate Life America, in a statement.
The initiative was the brainchild of Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Facebook, and Andrew Cameron, a transplant surgeon at Johns Hopkins Hospital. The two met 25 years ago at Harvard and met again at a reunion. Sandberg approached Cameron with the notion of using the social media power of 900 millions Facebook users to highlight the plight of the thousands of waiting patients.
“I think it’s possible that we will see an impact over the next couple of years, where we would imagine eliminating the transplant waiting list,” Dr. Cameron told ABC News.
The news is encouraging to anyone on the transplant list as well as their friends and family. Waiting and never being sure if the day will come when they are given a chance at living a healthy life can be agonizing. This initiative can bring new hope to patients and perhaps some day organ transplants will become a routine part of medical care.
MASS Medical Storage is a trusted source for cabinets, storage, and organizational tools for healthcare facilities small and large. MASS has the storage solutions that meet multiple needs and are completely customizable so visit our products page and see how MASS can keep your facility running smoothly.
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Posted on
May 7, 2012 by
Dr. StorBetter
If it seems like just about everyone you know is wheezing and sneezing as the temperatures have warmed up you’re probably right. Allergies are on the rise in the US and we may have brought them on ourselves.
Allergies are typically a reaction by your immune system to various elements both in the air and on the ground. We sniff at the pollen from trees, shrubs and flowers, dander from our pets and mold from excess moisture. About 54% of our friends and family are sensitive to at least one allergen. And if that seems high it’s because that’s about two to five times higher than allergy rates in the 1970s.
So just what’s going on here? There are probably several reasons that alone or in combination are conspiring to keep the tissue companies in business.
 Are we to blame increases in allergies? Have we built our homes too well or too poorly?
We’ve sealed ourselves into our houses. New and more energy efficient home construction can mean an almost airtight environment. Allergens like mold can develop when moisture doesn’t evaporate as quickly as it does in older homes that have more air circulation. On the flip side poor home construction can influence mold buildup when cost cutting on materials also allows moisture to collect.
Are we too clean?
Americans spend millions of dollars every day on cleaning products. Perhaps even more if we have small children around. But there’s some evidence that we’re preventing our kids from developing natural immune defenses to the bacteria, dirt and infectious agents in our environments.
Are we too dirty?
On the other side of cleanliness lies dirtiness. A rise in air pollutants combined with increasing metropolitan populations and global enterprise may also contribute to our reactions to tire particles, exhaust, and even the allergens that come from other countries via imported goods.
Is it hot in here or is it just me?
Not only are tornadoes multiplying, the ice caps melting and hurricanes moving farther down the alphabet but we could be increasing our allergies due to global warming. Longer and warmer springs and summers mean pollinators have more time to produce allergens meaning extended seasons.
So maybe there are human reasons we all sneeze longer. Luckily there are medications available to combat most of the bothersome symptoms and we can go about our days if not allergy free at least free-er. So breathe deep, open a window, let your kids get dirty and relax.
MASS Medical Supply is a fan of going outside. And we offer the best in storage and organizational cabinets and equipment so healthcare professionals can find what they need, stay organized, and still have time for lunch under a tree. Glad we could help!
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Posted on
April 30, 2012 by
Dr. StorBetter
As summer approaches and we emerge from our winter cocoons it can be a bit jarring to see how pale and sallow our skin might be. It’s tempting to head to the tanning salon to add a bit of color so we don’t blind our fellow man (or woman) when we first put on the shorts.
Let’s stop there.
Researchers examined records from a decades-long database of all patient care in Olmsted County, Minn., and looked for first-time diagnoses of melanoma in patients 18-39 from 1970 to 2009. Melanoma cases increased eightfold among women in that time and fourfold for men, the authors say. And yet, for as much as we know about the dangers of sun exposure we continue to associate beauty with a radiant summer tan.
 Sun worshipping can be dangerous. This is especially true for young women under 30. They have been taught by movies, television and other media that looking good includes darkening the skin. Lately it’s been called “The Jersey Shore Effect” as bevies of young people romp under the sun having all sorts of adventures. And they live at the tanning salon. Seventy-one percent of tanning salon patrons are girls and women aged 16-29. Between 1980 and 2004, the annual incidence of melanoma among young women increased by 50 percent, from 9.4 cases to 13.9 cases per 100,000 women. Fortunately death rates fell during the same period because of early detection and intervention.
People who use tanning beds are 2.5 times more likely to develop squamous cell carcinoma and 1.5 times more likely to develop basal cell carcinoma. Luckily, both basal cell and squamous cell carcinomas are easily treated with local therapies including cryotherapy (freezing) or surgery. Melanomas are a different story. More than three-fourths of skin cancer deaths come from this very serious type of cancer. If a melanoma invades more than a quarter-inch into the skin, there is a good chance it has spread to other areas of the body.
It’s tempting to let the sun shine on us, the warmth feels good, it signals summer fun and friends and for some of us it takes us back to the days when we lathered on the baby oil until we could repel a tidal wave. And let’s be honest, we still think we look good with a tan. It covers imperfections and makes a nice contrast with colorful summer attire. Fortunately sunless tanning products aren’t the nightmare they used to be. The orange skin, bad smell and obvious application lines are gone and even some of the tanning salons are switching to spray tans as an alternative to the egregious effects of the fake bake.
And when it comes to heading outdoors be sensible. Use sunscreen, wear protective clothing and check moles for ABCDEs: asymmetry, a blurred or irregular border, colors that are varied within the same mole, a diameter of more than a pencil eraser and both elevation and evolution, meaning signs that the mole is raised or changing shape.
New sunscreen regulations go into effect this summer. The FDA has cracked down on manufacturers claims of waterproof or sweatproof and made other recommendations. So read labels, throw out sunscreen that’s over a year old and pay particular attention to the amount that you use. In order for it to be effective you’ll need more than most people apply. A shot glass full for the body and a teaspoon for the face is the general recommendation, so don’t be shy, protect your health and squeeze that bottle.
Many local medical centers offer a free skin cancer screening yearly on May 21. Check your local hospitals for information in your area.
MASS Medical Supply wishes you a happy summer with healthy choices, good friends and family celebrations and endless sunny days.
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Posted on
April 20, 2012 by
Dr. StorBetter
You can’t be a healthcare professional if you don’t have a sense of humor, sometimes a pretty dark sense of humor, or at least an appreciation of the absurd. It can help when the day seems endless, your patients seem needier and you hear the call button even when you’re in your car. Of course it’s all worth it when you realize how much your patients really need you but sometimes…
You know you’re a nurse when:
You believe every patient needs TLC: Thorazine, Lorazepam and Compazine.
You would like to meet the inventor of the call light in a dark alley one night.
You believe not all patients are annoying … some are unconscious.
You know the phone numbers of every late night food delivery place in town by heart.
When asked, “What color is the patient’s diarrhea?” and you show them your shoes.
You’ve been telling stories in a restaurant and had someone at another table throw up.
You notice that you use more four-letter words now than before you became a nurse.
You can intubate your friends at parties.
You’ve basted your Thanksgiving turkey with a Toomey syringe.
Your bladder can expand to the same size as a Winnebago’s water tank.
You find yourself checking out other customer’s arm veins in grocery waiting lines.
And lastly:
You’ve sworn you’re going to have “NO CODE” tattooed on your chest.
Keeping a smile ready can sometimes be the only way to get through your day. Otherwise you might find yourself muttering softly to yourself as you wander the grocery aisles looking for catheters. MASS Medical Supply can help with the catheter part. Our customizable cath lab storage units can be the perfect organization solution. The FifoGlide unit has rotating catheter tracks to store more catheters than any other system. Interior modules offer easy access for long stent boxes, balloon, guidewires and more. Download our PDF catalog to see all your medical storage options. Once you find your way out of the grocery store.
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Posted on
April 9, 2012 by
Dr. StorBetter
If you’ve ever had aches or pains that you can’t identify or perhaps an itch you just can’t scratch you know that a mysterious medical problem can be frustrating. For some of us it goes way beyond an itch and can baffle medical professionals.
 By 2009, three-year old Rhett Lamb of St. Petersburg, Florida had literally been awake his entire life. His little body would collapse from fatigue but his mind would continue to stay alert and functioning. His condition naturally made him extremely irritable (if you’ve ever encountered a cranky three year old just multiply that by a hundred) and physicians were baffled. He was eventually diagnosed with Chiari malformation, a neurological disorder in which the bottom part of the brain descends out of the skull, putting pressure on both the brain and spine, causing a number of symptoms, including sleeplessness. Doctors performed a high-risk surgery to remove bone from around the brain stem giving the brain more space and reducing the pressure. Happily he is doing fine, is interacting with other children, and everyone is now able to sleep peacefully.
How would you like to remember everything that’s ever happened to you? A patient in California was diagnosed with hyperthymestic syndrome, the ability to recall any detail in her personal history and other public events. She will spontaneously experience memories from her past in vivid detail. If asked about a randomly selected date from the past twenty-five years she can provide minute details such as the day of the week, the weather and almost exactly what her experiences were on that day. And while her condition is frustrating at times, forcing her to remember unpleasant experiences, she also treasures being able to recall the best times of her life as if she was there again. So basically you’d get to remember your prom, and how much fun you had, but also that your date wore platform shoes, a powder blue tuxedo and had a perm.
A guy walks into a bar and says he can climb Mt. Everest in shorts and sandals. You take the bet and of course you win because it can’t be done. Except this guy actually made it to 24,300 feet before he stopped. Naturally he tried for Mt. Kilimanjaro next and this time he made it. Wim Hof, known as “The Ice Man” has earned his nickname from such shivering exploits as remaining in a tank of ice for almost two hours, swimming half the length of a football field under a sheet of ice in the Arctic, remaining encased in a glass box filled with ice for 71 minutes and I’m getting cold just writing this. Oh, and he made the Guinness record book for running a half-marathon barefoot in subzero conditions.
A series of tests (naturally) showed that Hof produced only half as much inflammatory defense proteins as the average human which means the extreme cold doesn’t have the same effect on him. The apparent reason was a sharp rise in levels of cortical, the “stress hormone” known to suppress the immune system. The Ice Man appears to be able to intentionally influence a system previously thought to be automatically regulated. He claims he can have an “internal conversation” in which his mind and his body communicate with each other to allow him to withstand the cold with little or no discomfort. I say that if I could influence my brain like that I’d make everything taste like dark chocolate. But that’s just me.
Fortunately these extreme conditions had happy resolutions and now just make for interesting stories but some will need constant medical attention and for those patients organization is key. MASS Medical Storage offers the most comprehensive and customizable storage solutions for medical professionals that keep critical tools within easy reach. If you’d like to learn how our products can increase your productivity we invite you to explore our website for planning tools and downloadable specifications so you’ll know exactly how we can help you.
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Posted on
April 2, 2012 by
Dr. StorBetter
If you’ve ever struggled with asthma you know how it can infringe on your quality of life and limit your activities. While most asthma sufferers respond to treatment, generally with inhaled corticosteroids, there are many others who need additional diagnosis and treatment.
Researchers at National Jewish Health have studied the use of a bronchoscope to visually examine patient airways to help identify and treat the more difficult varieties of asthma. While most asthma tests evaluate the ability to inhale and exhale air a bronchoscopy can provide a better examination by harvesting samples for examination.
 With the patient under a mild sedation, a small tube is inserted into the nose and threaded into the airways. A camera allows visual inspection and fluid and lung tissue are also collected for biopsy.
Fifty-eight patients with difficult-to-treat asthma participated in the study. Their asthma was characterized as needing oral corticosteroids while still remaining symptomatic in spite of higher dosages.
Twenty of the patients received standard guidelines-based treatment for four months and then underwent a bronchoscopy and therapy. The remaining thirty-eight patients received therapy based on the results of the bronchoscopy.
Researchers identified five mutually exclusive asthma phenotypes and initiated specific treatments including surgery, reflux treatment, antibiotics and omalizumab. After 24 weeks of this targeted therapy there were marked improvements in both lung function and Asthma Control Test scores rose from generally poorly controlled asthma to minimally uncontrolled.
The use of bronchoscopy is promising but additional studies will determine if this will ultimately be a viable treatment for those asthma sufferers who need more targeted and personal therapy. It’s an encouraging step and hopefully more investigation will prove successful.
Engineered to protect your scopes and provide easier access for your employees, MASS Secure-A-Scope cabinets feature a revolutionary new design that sets the standard for scope storage and accessibility. Whether you have colonoscopes, EUS scopes, TEE probes, bronchoscopes, or cystoscopes, MASS Medical has you covered with a variety of different racks to accommodate various scope sizes and quantities. Call us today for more information and let the MASS Medical team show you how we can partner with you for the best quality products and service.
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Posted on
March 18, 2012 by
Dr. StorBetter
Nanotechnology is the stuff of science fiction. Tiny spaceships enter the bloodstream and travel along until reaching the lungs, heart or brain and perform a small (literally) miracle on an important person and then return to eject Raquel Welch or Martin Short and everyone lives happily ever after. Seen it?
Real-world nanotechnology, while not quite as glamorous as Raquel Welch, is potentially the next giant step in scientific evolution and will touch everything from medicine to cars to space travel. How it intersects with medicine has amazing potential and scientists are teaming with doctors to effect real changes in treatments of multiple conditions. It’s very promising in cancer research and hopes are high.
 A nanometer (nm) is one-billionth of a meter, smaller than the wavelength of visible light and a hundred-thousandth the width of a human hair. It’s the smallest unit that man can use to build with. One approach to using this technology in cancer treatment is for units, or “nanoparticles” to travel through millions of human molecules in a drop of blood looking for the protein signature of a cancer subtype. When it finds it’s quarry it inserts a mechanism that would release a toxin to destroy the cell. Sounds pretty amazing doesn’t it?
Mark Davis, Professor of Chemical Engineering at the California Institute of Technology, and a member of the Experimental Therapeutics Program of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the City of Hope gave a recent lecture focusing on nanoparticles, “We’re trying to create these nanoscale particles for solid tumors [and] there really is, in my opinion, a very high potential to create new types of therapies and allow people to have a high quality of life.”
He is also leading a study in which three patients with melanoma, a form of skin cancer, were given nanoparticles as treatment. His team found evidence that the particles got inside the tumor cells in all three patients. One of the patients who consented to post treatment biopsies showed a reduction in the cancer-related proteins in his body.
While this study is small it’s greatly promising. Opinions vary on application of nanotechnology in cancer treatment but for the most part they are positive and hopeful in battling the disease on it’s most basic level.
Of course there are still many hurdles to overcome. The body’s immune system is made to recognize particles that are in the same size range as nanoparticles. The challenge will be to, in a sense, “fool” the immune system into ignoring these cells or engineer the particles to avoid immune cells altogether. There also economic and regulatory obstacles to overcome. It’s not a panacea but a very promising tool in the fight to prolong life while keeping quality of life intact. Let’s hope the promise can be kept.
Perhaps MASS Medical Storage will someday be your storage choice for nano-sized medical space ships. But for now they offer superior options for customizable storage units trusted by nurses and clinicians in small and large medical facilities. Please take a walk through our website and you’ll see that MASS Medical Storage products are as adaptable as you need them to be. And if you have a nano spaceship to store we can help with that too.
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Posted on
March 13, 2012 by
Dr. StorBetter
Healthcare workers are among the most stressed-out members of the workforce. They make critical decisions regularly, manage AND care for ill or injured patients, go above and beyond their job descriptions as often as they perform their regular job duties, and then they are expected to take good care of themselves and their families. Just the idea of all of this can add to the pile of nerves.
 Keeping a proper work/balance can be difficult but it’s certainly not impossible. It won’t happen overnight if you’ve found yourself in a well of fatigue or anxiety or are simply feeling overwhelmed. But if approached with a sense of optimism and by taking small steps you can restore your life to a manageable state.
First admit you actually are stressed. We see superwomen like Angelie Jolie or Oprah who seem to effortlessly glide through a million projects at a time (and look fabulous) and we feel inadequate. But remember, we could glide too if we had a support staff of caretakers and chefs. Oh, and Brad Pitt. Let’s not forget about him. He probably does the dishes and vacuums, the cretin.
Get organized! If you’re like most of us you try to keep all of your information, commitments, school programs and grocery lists in your head. Well that’s what smart phones were invented for! Use them, download whatever app will keep track of your life; alarms, pop-ups or just program it to scream at you when you’re due somewhere. Share calendars with everyone in your family and anyone else who helps out. Knowing in advance that you and your spouse are both working late on Tuesday is better than finding out late Tuesday afternoon. Keep a big list on the wall or fridge where everyone can just jot down things to remember.
Ask for help. We can’t do it alone so cultivate a support group of spouses, parents, co-workers or other parents. Offer help as much as you give it. Taking a friend’s kids for an evening so they can just chill is a great two-way street when it comes time for you to run away. Start your own support group. This can be as simple as sending an email to your friends and organizing activities like child play dates or even cooking together and freezing your creations for the week. Get a friend to help to reach out.
Delegate. This is similar to asking for help except that you’re assigning tasks so you’re not doing all the laundry, dishes, bill-paying, dusting, shopping, cooking and OMG I’m already tired. Even kids can help by the time they’re three. And if they want to be four they should really get moving.
Schedule family time. Keeping a commitment to game night, dinner at the table (if you can find it) or just reading a book at night is a great de-stressor. It will give you and your family something to look forward to. And if it means giving up one activity that you normally do (football, baseball, dance, chess, drama, etc) it will be worth it as it strengthens family bonds and encourages actually speaking to each other. This also works as date night for couples. You might be amazed at what you have at home if you just spend some time with it. This is what carryout and a good Pinot Noir was made for.
Achieving a good balance between being a healthcare professional and living a life outside work will keep you focused on both. It might not happen every day or every week but when it does it will give you a renewed outlook and dedication to work and family. At MASS Medical Supply we understand the value of organization and the time it saves and, in your case, the lives it saves. We design and manufacture customizable storage cabinets, procedure carts, scope storage and more. All are valuable tools for nurses and clinicians that contribute to better work/life harmony. To learn more please explore our website or just get in touch.You can reach us at 1-800-593-1900.
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Posted on
March 5, 2012 by
Dr. StorBetter
Once in a while we like to step back and have some fun. As spring approaches after what was a pretty mild winter we thought we’d entertain you with some stories from around the web about medical missteps, mistaken identities and how you know you were meant to be a healthcare professional.
Enjoy!
You Know You’re An OR Nurse When:
You’d rather get 15 minutes more sleep than put on makeup or fix your hair before going to work. (Besides, the cap and mask hide a lot, and whom are you trying to impress, anyway?)
You write RN after your signature on anything. On your credit card receipt, your checks and the speeding ticket you got coming in on-call.
You think that the vending machine in the lounge should have Prozac right next to the chocolate bars.
You can eat things like that green stuff in that blue bowl that’s been in the lounge refrigerator for more than a week, and not get sick. You might even ask around for the recipe.
All In A Doctor’s Day
A man comes into the ER and yells, “My wife‘s going to have her baby in the cab!” I grabbed my stuff, rushed out to the cab, lifted the lady‘s dress, and began to take off her underwear. Suddenly I noticed that there were several cabs — and I was in the wrong one.
Submitted by Dr. Mark MacDonald
At the beginning of my shift I placed a stethoscope on an elderly and slightly deaf female patient‘s anterior chest wall. “Big breaths,” I instructed. “Yes, they used to be,” replied the patient.
Submitted by Dr. Richard Byrnes
During a patient‘s two week follow-up appointment with his cardiologist, he informed me, his doctor, that he was having trouble with one of his medications. “Which one? ” I asked. “The patch. The nurse told me to put on a new patch every six hours and now I‘m running out of places to put it!” I had him quickly undress and discovered what I hoped I wouldn‘t see. Yes, the man had over fifty patches on his body! Now, the instructions include removal of the old patch before applying a new one.
Submitted by Dr. Rebecca St. Clair
Notes From Medical Records
On the second day the knee was better and on the third day it had completely disappeared.
The patient has been depressed ever since she began seeing me in 1983.
The patient is tearful and crying constantly. She also appears to be depressed.
Discharge status: Alive but without permission.
Healthy-appearing decrepit 69-year-old male, mentally alert but forgetful.
The patient refused an autopsy.
Between you and me, we ought to be able to get this lady pregnant.
The patient was in his usual state of good health until his airplane ran out of gas and crashed.
As a healthcare professional you know a sense of humor goes a long way on a long day. Organization can also keep you happy and less stressed. As a leading innovator in its field, MASS Medical Supply constantly reinvents designs in order to provide clinicians with the most efficient storage units on the market. We may even help keep that funny bone intact. To speak with one of our knowledgeable customer service representatives, please call 1-800-593-1900, or send us an email at info@massmedicalstorage.com
Thanks to HealthDegrees.com, OutpatientSurgery.net and Mercola.com
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Posted on
February 22, 2012 by
Dr. StorBetter
 You may have read our previous blog about smartphone and tablet applications for nurses and clinicians. They are excellent tools for busy caregivers to stay up-to-date on patient care, provide medical definitions, diagnosis information or even translate dosage instructions from adult to child on the fly. They contribute to the exemplary care already given by dedicated healthcare professionals. And although electronic devices can reduce medical error and provide valuable instruction there is a potential of added distraction.
The New York Times published a story in late 2011 citing doctors and nurses using computers for personal reasons even during surgeries and one patient was partly paralyzed by a neurosurgeon who made personal phone calls during surgery.
“Devices have a great capacity to reduce risk,” Dr. Charles G. Prober, senior associate dean for medical education at Stanford University, said. “But the last thing we want to see, and what is happening in some cases now, is the computer coming between the patient and his doctor.”
One recommendation to remedy this problem is for hospitals to issue electronic devices and restrict them to medical software and applications only, leaving all personal data and accounts on personal devices. Hospital policies are beginning to address the issue but a one-size fits all directive may be difficult to achieve.
Beyond the distractions posed by these devices comes the added risk that compassionate and attentive patient care may also suffer. Care providers can become engrossed in the benefits of information consistently at their fingertips and so busy medical personnel need to adopt a new approach when using technology within the patient room itself.
Dr. Peter J. Papadakos, anesthesiologist and director of critical care at the University of Rochester Medical Center in upstate New York recently wrote in a blog posting, “I tell students it can be helpful to discuss with patients how technology has improved their ability to provide care. I also stress the importance of maintaining eye contact with the patients when speaking with them and getting data from them. I think it is this kind of conscious technology-to-patient interface etiquette that is essential in preserving the all-important professional relationship.” He also recommends silencing devices when speaking to and examining the patient and telling patients that they are the focus.
From the “horse-less carriage” to the nano-robot, new technology is always an adjustment and the learning curve may be getting larger and larger. But at the basis of all medical care is the patient and the patient is why healthcare workers chose their professions. Care and compassion will find a balance with apps and tablets and medicine will be the better for it.
MASS Medical Storage Products provide clinicians with the most efficient storage units on the market. They can be customized to any environment with our easy drag-and-drop system to organize interior components of many of the carts and cabinets we have available.
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