Allina News

[River Falls Journal, Dec. 31, 2009] The River Falls Area Hospital Foundation will launch a new fundraising campaign to purchase a LUCAS Chest Compression System, the latest in life-saving cardiac technology, for the hospital’s emergency department.
Community members will be contacted by mail and phone and will be invited to make a contribution to support the [...]

[The McLeod County Chronicle, Dec. 31, 2009] Christmas came early this year to the Glencoe home of Bill and Marilyn Dunbar, where on Nov. 13, Marilyn and sons Hunter, Chase and Reed happily shared a gift. It was Bill, returning after nine days at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, where medical professionals twice lowered his [...]

[Dec. 30,009] General surgeon Christopher Nielsen, MD, FACS, is joining Surgical Care Consultants, P.A., and Jose Fulco, MD, in a general surgery practice that will provide services to both Allina Medical Clinic and Northfield Hospital & Clinics.
Dr. Nielsen comes to Northfield from the Twin Cities, where he has been practicing since 2006. Prior to that, [...]

[Information Management, Dec. 30, 2009] When Allina Hospitals and Clinics in Minneapolis decided to implement inpatient and ambulatory electronic health records across its 11-hospital delivery system, it adopted the single-vendor model and chose Epic Systems Corp., Verona, Wis. The selection process took six months, “which for a system of our size is quite remarkable,” says [...]

[Minnesota Public Radio - Midmorning, Dec. 29, 2009] H1N1 and the effort to reform health care dominated the news this year, but two local doctors say the year in medicine was marked less by major breakthroughs than by the debunking of long-held medical beliefs.
Craig Bowron, MD, a hospitalist at Allina’s Abbott Northwestern Hospital and a [...]

[Star Tribune, Dec. 29, 2009] High-deductible health insurance and economic uncertainty have combined to create a crush of year-end elective surgeries at area hospitals including several of Allina’s.
At Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, overall surgery volumes have topped 100 a day for the past six weeks, up from the usual 80 a day. Some who [...]

[Star Tribune, Dec. 29, 2009] Many politicians have overcome admissions of addiction or depression, thanks to better understanding of the manageable diseases. Can Dayton, too?
There was a time when the public admission of mental illness could derail a candidate’s political career.
That could still happen to Mark Dayton, the Democratic candidate for governor who went public [...]

[Northland Press, Dec. 29, 2009] Riverwood Healthcare Center and Cuyuna Regional Medical Center (CRMC) are pleased to announce their plans to provide cancer care services in affiliation with the Virginia Piper Cancer Institute(tm) (VPCI). VPCI is the comprehensive cancer care program of Allina Hospitals & Clinics based in Minneapolis and is strategically aligned with Minnesota [...]

[Star Tribune, Dec. 27, 2009] A groundbreaking type of funding is giving a boost to the new Fridley Medical Center, where construction began this month. Under $17 million in new bonding authority it received through the federal stimulus package, Anoka County will in effect transfer some of its bonding, or borrowing, power [...]

[Positively Minnesota-DEED, Nov. 6, 2009] This partnership addresses the serious healthcare worker shortage faced by four rural healthcare facilities in Southern Minnesota – New Ulm Medical Center, Sleepy Eye Medical Center, Madelia Community Hospital and Oak Hills Living Center. South Central College will work with Ridgewater College and Hennepin Technical College to develop curriculum focusing [...]

[Minnesota Public Radio - Midmorning, Dec. 24, 2009] The light is gradually returning, but not fast enough for those who suffer from seasonal affective disorder. Midmorning talks to Allina Medical Clinic psychologist Dr. Alan Steed about what separates SAD from other forms of depression, and what researchers are learning about the most effective treatments. [...]

[WCCO 4 News, Dec. 22, 2009] A Christmas CD is helping to soothe babies at Abbott Northwestern Hospital this holiday season. Tim O’Neill is a pianist and father of two preemie babies. He came up with The Christmas Lullabies CD after his own children seem to benefit from hearing the music. See the story at [...]

[Allina Newsroom, Dec. 23, 2009] Allina Hospitals & Clinic’s Virginia Piper Cancer Institute (VPCI) Radiation Oncology Clinic at Abbott Northwestern Hospital has completed installation of the Trilogy Linear Accelerator with RapidArc™, a fast, precise form of radiation therapy treatment using advanced technology. This will be the second Trilogy Linear Accelerator at VPCI’s Abbott Northwestern Hospital [...]

[Northfield News, Dec. 22, 2009] Local health care providers are opening their H1N1 vaccine supplies to the general population following new recommendations from the state.
Northfield’s Allina Medical Clinic will offer the vaccine to the public, Clinic Manager Barb Barlau said, as will the Northfield Hospital and Clinics, said spokesman Scott Richardson on [...]

[St. Paul Legal Ledger Capitol Report, Dec. 22,2009] Woodbury has chosen Allina Hospitals & Clinics to provide medical direction for its police, fire and emergency services divisions.
The city chose Woodbury from among three area hospital organizations that submitted bids. “When staff compared the costs of each vendor for the services we deem necessary, Allina had [...]

[KARE-TV & KSTP-TV, Dec. 18, 2009] The holiday message spread to folks in St. Paul on Friday, where United Hospital staffers brought the holiday spirit to patients who may have to spend it here. They took part in the annual Lab-Bi-Dazzle, a Christmas parade through United’s hallways. See the story at kare11.com or watch below.

[Allina Newsroom, Dec. 19, 2009] Ophthalmologists at Allina’s Phillips Eye Institute are using a new minimally invasive alternative to traditional glaucoma therapies called Trabectome®. Phillips Eye Institute, part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, is the first Trabectome Center in the Minneapolis-St. Paul area. Read the full story at the Allina Newsroom.

[Northfield News, Dec. 18, 2009] Local health officials said a recalled batch of H1N1 vaccinations for children was not distributed in Northfield. The 800,000 pediatric immunization doses recalled by manufacturer Sanofi Pasteur were found through testing to lose potency in storage, but were not distributed to the Northfield Hospital and Clinics or Allina Medical Clinic [...]

[Pierce County Herald, Dec. 17, 2009] The River Falls Area Hospital Foundation will launch a new fundraising campaign to purchase a LUCAS Chest Compression System, the latest in life-saving cardiac technology, for the hospital’s emergency department. Read the full story on piercecountyherald.com.

[KEYC-TV, Dec. 16, 2009] Center for Disease Control says, heart disease is the number one cause of death for Americans. But Minnesota sees totally different numbers. Allina’s Heart of New Ulm project is working to lower that number more.
New Ulm Medical Center Family Practitioner Dr. Charles Stephens says, “what we are trying to do is [...]

[Allina Newsroom, Dec. 17, 2009] The City of Woodbury has selected Allina Hospitals & Clinics to provide medical direction and training for the city’s police, fire and EMS divisions. Woodbury chose Allina from among three area hospital organizations that submitted responses to the city’s request for quotes.

[Allina Newsroom, Dec. 17, 2009] Allina clinics, including Aspen Medical Group, Quello Clinic and Allina Medical Clinic, are now making H1N1 flu vaccine available to all its patients provided that individual clinics have adequate supply of H1N1 vaccine on hand.

[Star Tribune, Dec. 16, 2009] Kathie Shemon, RNC, is a Care Navigator Nurse with Allina Home & Community Services. She talks about her job and how she helps patients find the help they need in the Allina system in an interview on the StarTribune.com Jobs: Healthcare web site. Read the whole Q & A on [...]

[KARE11, Dec. 16, 2009] The number of H1N1 cases in Minnesota may continue to drop, but experts still recommend people exercise caution over the holidays.
“If you have respiratory symptoms — cough, sore throat, a temperature of over 101 – you ought to be distancing yourself from everyone, particularly people who are vulnerable,” said Dr. Frank Rhame, [...]

[Allina Newsroom, Dec. 16, 2009] City and county officials joined Fridley medical community leaders for groundbreaking ceremonies today on Allina Hospitals & Clinics’ Unity Hospital campus. The event marked the start of construction on the $14 million Fridley Medical Center. The two-story, 60,000-square-foot medical office building will provide expanded facilities for Multicare Associates’ primary care [...]