February 13 and March 13
March 9
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The next scheduled blood drives are: January 15, 17, 25 and 31
All donors will receive a $5
Dunkin' gift card via email!
Appointments are preferred
but walk-ins are welcome.
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Osteoporosis is Not Considered a Normal Part of Aging
What is a Ketogenic Diet and is it Safe?
The Importance of Fiber in Your Diet
Patient Story - Laparoscopic Colectomy
Featured Video - Getting a Handle on Your Hand, Wrist and Elbow Pain
New Weight Loss Surgery Online Information Session
Milford Regional Receives an ‘A’ for Patient Safety
Find Your Way Inside the Hospital
Need a Primary Care Physician?
Get to Know our General Surgeons
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Osteoporosis is Not Considered a Normal Part of Aging
The statistics are shocking. An estimated 64 million Americans over age 50 are expected to have low bone density or osteoporosis by 2020. Osteoporosis (“porous bones”) often has no symptoms, but the bone fractures it causes can be life changing. Osteoporosis is not considered a normal part of aging. It can be treated and sometimes prevented.
Bones are made of living tissue that continually build up and break down. Up until about age 30, the body builds up more bone than it breaks down. After 30, the body begins to lose bone at a faster rate than it builds, causing a slow loss of bone mass. Women after menopause lose bone mass at a much faster rate since their body is no longer producing estrogen which protects the body from bone loss. Men can get osteoporosis too, but generally, men start to lose bone mass in their late 50’s and lose it at a slower pace.
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The danger of having osteoporosis is that you are at much greater risk of bone fractures, particularly in your hip, spine and wrist. A fracture in your hip or spine can be debilitating. Believe it or not, those with osteoporosis can fracture a bone simply by bending over or coughing!
Good nutrition and regular exercise are essential for keeping your bones healthy. Calcium and vitamin D are important nutrients to keep bones strong. Women and men over 50 should get 1,200mg of calcium a day. Good sources of calcium are dairy products such as low-fat milk, cheese and yogurt. Calcium is also found in broccoli, kale, spinach, tofu, almonds, salmon with bones, sardines, and calcium-fortified juices, cereal and bread.
Vitamin D helps your body absorb calcium. Most men and women over 50 should get 800 – 1,000 mg of vitamin D daily. Some vitamin D is obtained from the sun exposure, but usually not enough (especially living in the northeast). There are a few food sources for vitamin D such as fatty fish – salmon, tuna and mackerel, milk is fortified with vitamin D and often yogurt, orange juice and cereals are too. Your vitamin D can be checked with a blood test, and if it is low, your doctor may recommend a supplement.
Strength training and weight-bearing exercise will help to build strong bones and slow bone loss. Strength training helps strengthen muscles and bones in your arms and upper spine. Strength training exercise uses some form of resistance such as hand-held weights, weight machines, resistance bands or balls. Weight-bearing exercise includes any activity where your body must bear its own weight such as walking, jogging, dancing and stair climbing - affecting mainly the bones in your legs, hips and lower spine.
If you have a family history of osteoporosis or have certain medical conditions, your doctor may suggest a bone density test. It is a simple, non-invasive, painless test to measure your bone mass in your hip, spine and forearm. It is important to know if your bone density is low so you can start treatment as soon as possible. If you do have low bone density, there are several different medications that can help.
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What is a Ketogenic Diet and is it Safe?
Recently, you may have read or heard about a ketogenic diet and wonder why this diet has become so popular. A ketogenic diet is a high-fat, very low carbohydrate diet typically eating fewer than 50 grams of carbs a day — less than four slices of bread.
With this diet, your body is forced to burn fat rather than carbs for energy and your body enters a metabolic state called ketosis. Ketosis occurs when you don't have enough sugar (glucose) for energy, so your body breaks down stored fat, causing ketones to build up in your body.
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Ketosis is thought to have brain-protecting benefits. It has been used effectively to treat young people with epilepsy, reducing the number of seizures after following this diet. And some early research suggests it may have benefits for blood sugar control among people with diabetes.
While the research is exciting, there's very little evidence to show that this type of eating is effective — or safe — over the long term for anything other than epilepsy. Some people do well on it, others do not. It is a very individualized diet. Plus, very low carbohydrate diets tend to have higher rates of side effects, including constipation, headaches, bad breath and more. Also, meeting the diet's requirements means cutting out many healthy foods, making it difficult to meet your nutritional needs.
Before beginning any diet, you should consult your primary care physician, particularly if you have any chronic health conditions.
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The Importance of Fiber in Your Diet
Eating foods that provide dietary fiber can help maintain a healthy weight, prevent constipation, and can lower your risk of diabetes, heart disease and some types of cancer. Dietary fiber includes the parts of plant foods the body cannot digest.
Fiber is often classified as either soluable or insoluable. Soluable fiber dissolves in water and is found in oats, peas, beans, apples, citrus fruits, carrots and barley. It can help lower blood cholesterol and glucose levels. In addition, studies have shown that high-fiber foods may have other heart-health benefits, such as reducing blood pressure and inflammation.
Insoluable fiber promotes the movement of material through your digestive system so it can benefit those who struggle with constipation. Whole-wheat flour, wheat bran, nuts, and vegetables, such as cauliflower, broccoli, green beans and potatoes, are good sources of insoluble fiber.
High-fiber foods tend to be more filling than low-fiber foods, so you're likely to eat less and stay satisfied longer. And high-fiber foods tend to take longer to eat and to be less "energy dense," which means they have fewer calories for the same volume of food.
Learn more about high-fiber diets at mayoclinic.org
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Laparoscopic Colectomy
After a colonoscopy revealed a 5.5 centimeter tumor in her colon, Susan met with Dr. Nora Fullington who recommended a laparoscopic colectomy, a surgical procedure to remove part of her colon. The prospect of surgery was intimidating for Susan but she felt she was in good hands with Dr. Fullington.
After her surgery, Susan underwent chemotherapy at The Cancer Center at Milford Regional, which she completed in June 2017. “I feel good” she said. “It’s beyond me why anyone would ever think going into Boston is a better option with all that stress and anxiety.” Susan is back to enjoying making pottery and performing with a local singing group.
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Getting a Handle on Your Hand, Wrist and Elbow Pain
Many people suffer from painful hand, wrist and elbow injuries and conditions such as carpal tunnel syndrome, ganglion cysts, arthritis and tendonitis. Jeffrey Dietz, MD, is a highly regarded hand surgeon who specializes in the surgical and non-surgical treatment of fractures, dislocations, and joint, nerve and tendon conditions.
Watch this video, featuring Dr. Dietz, to hear about the options available to alleviate pain and discomfort in your upper extremities.
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New Weight Loss Surgery Online Information Session
The Center for Weight Loss Surgery at Milford Regional provides an effective solution for adults that struggle with severe weight problems along with their associated health risks and medical complications. In the past, interested individuals were required to attend a free, information session on the Milford Regional campus as the first step in enrolling in the program.
We understand that not everyone who may be interested in considering weight loss surgery can attend our monthly information session so we have created an online version of the session that is accessible from our website. If you choose to watch the video to learn more about the program, we ask that you watch the entire video so that you will be fully informed and your questions will be answered.
Learn more about our Weight Loss Surgery Program and our new online information video.
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Milford Regional Receives an ‘A’ for Patient Safety
Milford Regional was awarded an ‘A’ from The Leapfrog Group’s fall 2018 Hospital Safety Grade. The designation recognizes Milford Regional’s efforts in protecting patients from harm and meeting the highest safety standards in the United States.
The Leapfrog Group is a national organization committed to improving health care quality and safety for consumers and purchasers. The Safety Grade assigns an A, B, C, D or F grade to hospitals across the country based on their performance in preventing medical errors, infections and other harm among patients in their care.
Read more about the Patient Safety Award.
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Find Your Way Inside the Hospital
Have you ever found yourself anticipating a trip to the hospital for an appointment or to visit someone and weren't sure where you should park and enter the hospital? Once you are in the lobby, how do you figure out where you need to go?
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To help our patients and visitors, we have created a page on our website called - FIND YOUR WAY Inside the hospital. This page is easily found on the homepage of our site
milfordregional.org .
On your desktop computer or tablet, look for the orange strip in the upper right corner of the page. On your mobile phone, look for the orange stripe located just below the purple navigation bar. Click on the department you are visiting and it will tell you where to park, where to enter the hospital and how to get where you want to go. If you are in the hospital visiting a patient and you would like to go to the cafeteria, the FIND YOUR WAY page will get you there. It is just that easy!
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Milford Regional's active medical staff, consisting of over 250 doctors, is highly qualified to treat you and your family through sickness and in health. Whether you need a primary care physician or a specialist, you can be assured of the best possible care.
Need a Primary Care Physician?
If you need a physician, please call our Physician Referral Line at 1-888-DRS-HERE (1-888-377-4373). Our Referral Line is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. For a quick look, see our
list of primary care physicians
who are accepting new patients. It is important to note that not all physicians accept all insurances. Please call the physician's office directly to find out if they accept your insurance plan.
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Get to Know Our General Surgeons
General surgery is a surgical specialty that focuses on the abdominal organs such as the stomach, colon, gall bladder, liver and appendix. With the technological advances made during the last several years, most general surgeries are performed with a minimally invasive approach; traditional laparoscopic surgery or using the da Vinci robotic surgical system. With either type of surgery, only tiny incisions are made in the abdomen rather than one large incision.
Laparoscopic surgery shortens the hospital stay for the patient, and normal activity can usually be resumed after a few days at home. Because the abdominal muscles are not cut as in open surgery, patients have less pain and fewer complications. Depending on your condition, the surgeon will determine which surgery is best for you.
Read more about our general surgeons.
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508-473-1190
TTY/TDD: 508-473-5103
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