St. Joseph's/Candler

We were honored by a personal message of resilience and courage at the SmartWomen Luncheon & Expo by keynote speaker Laila Ali, a professional athlete, wellness advocate and famed daughter of Muhammad Ali. SmartWomen is our annual fundraiser for the Telfair Mammography Fund to help pay for mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women. Make a donation today by texting the word MAMMO to 50155.

If you have Parkinson’s disease, there may come a point where you feel like you are losing your voice. Or, maybe you are already experiencing a softer, weaker tone. Because Parkinson’s is a progressive, neuro-degenerative disorder, one of the areas affected is speech. Similar to how other muscles weaken due to Parkinson’s, your voice muscles can weaken too. Additionally, your respiratory support can be reduced, which means your air flow to make the vocal cords work and be louder and project, gets a little lighter. “Unfortunately, this is one of the hallmarks of Parkinson’s,” says Amanda Kidd, speech language pathologist for St. Joseph’s/Candler’s outpatient speech therapy. “We see it pretty often.” While there’s not a cure for Parkinson’s, we can help you manage your symptoms, including learning to find your voice again. At St. Joseph’s/Candler, we have two speech therapy treatment programs designed to help Parkinson’s patients suffering with speech issues. Both are offered through outpatient speech therapy, which is located at the Center of Oto-Neurology office in Plaza B on the St. Joseph’s Hospital campus. Additionally, some of our speech therapists in inpatient rehabilitation are certified in these programs. https://lnkd.in/dTqJpTXn #speechtherapy #parkinsons #parkinsonsdisease #movementdisorders

Join us for a special Buddy Check 3 event Oct. 18 at Jenkins High School! Call to make an appointment today! 

Our partnership between Tina Tyus-Shaw, Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion at St. Joseph's/Candler and WSAV-TV will host the 3rd Healing Heroes: A Tribute to Breast Cancer Survivors, a fashion show featuring breast cancer survivors from the area, on October 26. Proceeds from the event will go directly to the Telfair Mammography Fund to help pay for mammograms for uninsured and underinsured women. Want to make an additional donation to the Telfair Mammography Fund now? Simply text buddycheck to 50155. https://lnkd.in/gsCj95pW

It’s time to get those sneakers on, moms-to-be. With every stretch, every lunge and every breath, you are sculpting healthier futures for you and your baby. “Exercise during pregnancy has been proven to decrease pain and discomfort throughout pregnancy,” says Dr. Ashley Hunsuck, an OB/GYN at Savannah OB/GYN. “The patients I see that are truly active throughout pregnancy rarely speak to the discomforts other women say they experience in pregnancy.” A big benefit of regular exercise during pregnancy is reducing your chances of developing gestational diabetes, Dr. Hunsuck says. Gestational diabetes is a type of diabetes in a pregnant woman who did not have or know she had diabetes prior to becoming pregnant. More at https://lnkd.in/es_vbpnF #healthypregnancy #obgyn #pregnancy

The early warning signs of diabetes are the same for both men and women: frequent urination, constantly feeling thirsty, blurry vision and fatigue, to name a few. Some women may think that’s just a part of a busy lifestyle and put off going to the doctor. Regardless of a hectic lifestyle, if you experience any of the common warning signs of diabetes, talk to your doctor. Ashley Andrews, population navigator for the St. Joseph’s/Candler Center for Diabetes Management, lists some of the different ways diabetes affects men and women at https://lnkd.in/eahS7Fii

Life is full of hard decisions. None may be as important as making choices regarding our healthcare, especially in the face of serious illness. That’s when an advance directive can help. “I know it’s tough. No one wants to think about giving up control of their decisions or thoughts of dying,” says Dr. Anthony Costrini, St. Joseph’s/Candler ethicist and long-time Savannah physician. “But sometimes these difficult questions are easier to address before they come up.” Start with a simple question: Who do you trust to be your surrogate, or the one honoring your wishes and making healthcare choices for you if you can’t? It could be your spouse, a sibling, a close friend or anyone you trust. Then, start having conversations with your surrogate about your healthcare wishes, as well as your physician. You can get guidance from the Georgia Advance Directive for Health Care form or the Five Wishes document, which also is honored in Georgia. More at https://lnkd.in/e38T9mTt #advancedirective #endoflife #endoflifedecisions

If you are diagnosed with cancer, diet plays a vital role in your treatment plan and recovery. One macronutrient that our Lewis Cancer & Research Pavilion oncology dietitians like to focus on is protein. If you are a vegetarian or vegan or try to eat more plant-forward, your cancer diagnosis doesn’t have to change that. There are still many ways you can get protein. “Protein really helps maintain their muscle mass and helps their immunity. Protein is really important during treatment,” stresses LCRP outpatient oncology dietitian Anna Zugan, who sees patients in Bluffton and Hilton Head. More at https://lnkd.in/eWQhMJQ7 #vegetarian #vegan #diet #cancer #cancercare #cancertreatment #cancerdiet #dietitian #oncologydietitian #oncology

Meet Natalie Sonekar, mammography technologist at Telfair Breast Imaging – Eisenhower. Natalie has worked here for almost 11 years. She sees patients all day long, making sure they get a nice robe, going over their history and then performing the mammography. She also helps send out result letters, which go out every day. Natalie is also the person who schedules any callbacks for additional screening, which is done at St. Joseph’s Hospital. “I love helping people, helping women. The exam can be a little personal, a little stressful and scary for some patients. I totally get that. I try to get their mind off of it, put the patient at ease while I do their exam. I’ll crack a little joke or giggle with them. I love that I try to get their mind off of it by joking around for the few minutes we are in there.” “St. Joseph’s/Candler, honestly, cares about the community and co-workers. I honestly feel like I am cared about. They do so much for us. Specifically with mammography, we have the Telfair Mammography Fund, which helps the uninsured and underinsured. They do so much for the community all around. I like that because there’s not many organizations that care about their employees or the people who are living in the community. It’s a good place to work. We also have a good little group of three over here.” Meet other featured co-workers on our website: https://lnkd.in/eeWCBmCU #mammography #mammogram #breastcancer