Free medicine

Spartanburg County's employee clinic gets high marks from patients

FEBRUARY 18, 2010 9:58 a.m. (0)

Tony Bell was visiting the clinic he helped set up for Spartanburg County employees recently, and the clinic’s advising physician happened to be there.

“My shoulder has been bothering me forever and a day,” said Bell, sporting a blue canvas arm sling late last week. “He said, ‘Why don’t you get an MRI?’ I hadn’t gotten back to my office before they were calling me to set it up.”  Continue reading...

 

Baby Boomers: health care crisis?

JULY 21, 2010 6:26 a.m. (0)

A bottleneck in health care is coming fast as the first wave of Baby Boomers reach Medicare age next year, obesity sends more people to the emergency room and coverage is expanded to millions.

At the same time caps remain on the number of American doctors coming out of medical training each year, doctors approaching retirement will almost double in the next decade and government reform is increasing demands that hospitals deliver better care with less money.  Continue reading...

 

A different kind of doctoring

MDVIP promises a lessened patient load, no-wait appointments

NOVEMBER 29, 2010 2:54 p.m. (4)

Seeing 40 patients a day, spending maybe 10 minutes tops on each, being quick with the prescription pad, shuffling them in and out, backing them up in the waiting room, going home exhausted, stressed out, discouraged.

That’s not why Leslie Long and Nancy Netter went to medical school, and they walked away, not from medicine but from the traditional office practice that wore them out and, as they saw it, shortchanged patients.

Long and Netter joined MDVIP, a network of doctors who limit patient load to 600, promise no-wait appointments, give 90-minute physicals, spend at least 30 minutes on scheduled appointments, stress preventative care, and are always a phone call away.  Continue reading...

 

Coalition wants Greenville to Live Well

Group advocates changing policies, systems, environments

JANUARY 21, 2011 11:03 a.m. (0)

A coalition of school, business, health care and local government groups want to make the healthy choice the easy choice for Greenville County residents.

And they say changing policies, systems and environments is the way to do that.

“Most of us already know that we should be making healthier choices,” said Katy Smith, executive director of the Piedmont Health Care Foundation. “The problem is, sometimes those choices aren’t available to us, or the unhealthier choices are easier or more appealing.”  Continue reading...

 

St. Francis to expand cancer program

Health system will offer specialized treatment options

FEBRUARY 17, 2011 2:18 p.m. (1)

Bon Secours St. Francis Health System is adding internationally known cancer specialists, expanding its cancer treatment facilities, improving patient access to clinical trials and offering specialized treatment options in response to a growing demand for cancer treatment in the Upstate.

An integral part of the expansion is the St. Francis Hematology Oncology Center for the treatment of blood cancers and disorders, which are among the most difficult to diagnose and treat. Doctors are able to tailor treatment by examining the cancer genes.

Three doctors will lead the center: Dr. Gary Spitzer, one of the primary physician architects of stem cell transplantation at M.D. Anderson Hospital and a doctor who helped develop treatment regimes for Hodgkin’s lymphoma now considered standard of care; Dr. Frits van Rhee, an internationally recognized specialist in the treatment of multiple myeloma and Castleman’s disease who is known for his work in gene array therapy; and Dr. Devena Alston, an oncologist with expertise in blood and solid tumors.  Continue reading...