Allina News

[Pioneer Press, Feb. 9, 2010] Four days after spending more than eight hours trapped up to his chest inside a Farmington grain silo, Mark Malecha returned to work Monday. Authorities are investigating reports he was not wearing a safety harness when, while attempting to unclog clumped or frozen grain, he fell [...]

[Pioneer Press, Feb. 3, 2010] A group of Twin Cities emergency physicians plans to open a standalone emergency treatment center in Woodbury—hoping to provide faster, cheaper care than the Woodwinds hospital ER a mile away. The group practice has been planning a standalone treatment center for three years, but targeted the east metro suburb after [...]

[Pioneer Press, Jan. 24, 2010] There’s a chill in the air for the once-hot retail health clinic industry as growth has stalled following a boom. As the retail clinic business has matured over the past two years, operators that once threatened to undermine the delivery of health care in the U.S. increasingly are finding the [...]

[Pioneer Press, Jan. 14, 2010] No patients in Minnesota hospitals died from falls last year — a first for the state since it started publicly reporting preventable hospital errors six years ago.
Health officials said the decrease — down from 10 fall-related deaths in the previous reporting period — was a remarkable achievement that required the cooperation [...]

[Pioneer Press, Dec. 06, 2009] Most city officials instinctively want to control their own services and preserve their identities—showing off the city name on water towers, police cars, snowplows and uniforms. Yet pride comes at a price. The state auditor’s office recently released figures that show that some cities are paying 10 times as much [...]

[WCCO, KARE11, Pioneer Press, Dec. 1, 2009] A woman who suffered a brain aneurysm in her home got a chance to thank the strangers who saved her life including paramedics from Allina’s ALF Ambulance Service.
In Apple Valley Tuesday, Sandie Birdsall got a chance to hug the first responders who came to her aid exactly one [...]

[Pioneer press, Nov. 25, 2009] A continued decrease in reported H1N1 flu cases and an increase in vaccine stores will allow most people up to 24 years old to qualify for the vaccine, state health officials said Tuesday. The new vaccination guidelines will allow an estimated 2.7 million Minnesotan to qualify for the vaccine, compared [...]

[Pioneer Press, Nov. 20, 2009] A life-saving side market for the next generation of high-profile transcatheter devices also promises growth for med-tech companies.
Life dealt Ruth Schuenke a tough hand last year. After her husband passed away in May following years with Alzheimer’s disease, the 84-year-old Burnsville resident saw her own health steadily decline due to [...]

[Pioneer Press, Nov. 7, 2009] A 10-year experiment to determine whether one community can cut or even eliminate heart attacks has shown early progress, according to Allina Hospitals & Clinics. After one year, Allina’s Heart of New Ulm project has identified thousands of people with heart problems or metabolic conditions that put them at risk [...]

[Pioneer Press, Nov. 3, 2009] Dorothy Schadegg might shrug, but she’s packed a lot into her century of living. Flapper. Speed skater. Cabin builder. Wife. Widow. Explorer. And 22 years as a volunteer at United Hospital.
Going to parties has put Dorothy Schadegg a little bit behind on preparing the Christmas stockings she sews every year [...]

[St. Paul Pioneer Press, Oct. 28, 2009] Once a year, the cardiac patients who were told to go home and die gather at Abbott Northwestern Hospital to toast their lives with fresh fruit and to hear from Dr. Tim Henry — the cardiologist who helped them beat the odds.
It’s special for Henry, who hurried in [...]

[Pioneer Press, Oct. 18, 2009] People performing CPR chest compressions might fare better using a device that functions a bit like a toilet plunger rather than using their hands. That’s the unlikely notion at the heart of Roseville-based Advanced Circulatory Systems (ACS).
Allina Medical Transport — the ambulance division of Minneapolis-based Allina Health System — has [...]

[Pioneer Press, Oct. 4, 2009]  Guitarist Billy McLaughlin was selling out shows in 1998 — playing more than 200 concerts a year, all around the United States — when he was on his way to a photo shoot for an album.
He was pulling his youngest son, Blaise, out of the car when the boy’s foot [...]

[Star Tribune & Pioneer Press, Sept. 2, 2009] A widely anticipated heart disease study released Tuesday could boost the use of an advanced type of heart defibrillator made by companies with strong roots in Minnesota.
“This will likely broaden the number of patients who will be treated with [CRT-D] devices,” said Dr. William Katsiyiannis, a cardiologist [...]

[Pioneer Press, Aug. 13, 2009] Roy Prudencio, the equipment manager for the Eagan Fire Department, used to pride himself on his good health. At the end of March, however, his wife noticed his skin looked jaundiced. A blood draw and CT scan revealed liver cancer.
Since April, Prudencio has gone to Abbott Northwestern [...]