Allina News

[Ster Tribune, Aug. 24, 2010] University of Minnesota researchers say they have found a potential new treatment for HIV, using a mixture of two anti-cancer drugs that are already on the market. Researcher Louis Mansky said the two-drug combination killed off the HIV cells quickly, sometimes in a matter of hours, in the lab experiments. [...]

[Star Tribune, August 18, 2010] Laurie Aguirre, a Health Unit Coordinator at United Hospital in St. Paul, talks about her work. Read the interview online at startribune.com.

[Star Tribune, August 17, 2010] Combine the socializing of a Tupperware party with cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training and you’ve got a “save-a-life” party. Save-a-life parties are designed to teach people to react quickly in emergencies, and, in particular, how to use CPR. Save-a-life parties are more relaxed than CPR certification courses, which go for four [...]

[Star Tribune, July 23, 2010] Starting in August, new mothers will have a chance to multi-task in style in Buffalo, Minn. The local hospital is unveiling its new birth center, where every patient room will be equipped with an iPod docking station, a flat-screen TV and DVD player, a soaking tub, rocking chair and refrigerator [...]

[Star Tribune, July 22, 2010] An anonymous kidney donor last week launched a chain of 10 surgeries and five transplants at three hospitals in Minnesota and North Dakota. Though such exchanges have occurred in other states, this is the first time that such a complex kidney swap took place in Minnesota, long a leader in [...]

[Star Tribune, July 22, 2010] If you’re having a heart attack, you may not need an emergency room at all, according to a groundbreaking study at United Hospital in St. Paul. Researchers found that patients get faster care, and are more likely to survive, if an ambulance crew takes them straight to a specialized hospital [...]

[Star Tribune, July 19, 2010] Jim Meis, 60, didn’t die that day. About an hour after he collapsed at his home in Monticello, he was landing on the helipad at Abbott Northwestern Hospital in Minneapolis, pumped full of drugs and with a breathing tube down his throat. Meis’ survival that harrowing night is the story of [...]

[Star Tribune, June 6, 2010] Last summer, Barbara Grangaard developed a slight tremor in her right hand and went in for an MRI scan. The results were a surprise. The test didn’t detect any problem related to the tremor, but it did reveal an aneurysm, a bubble protruding from a blood vessel in her brain. [...]

[StarTribune, June 2, 2010] Some say the pendulum has swung too far. The share of babies born before 37 weeks has jumped sharply since 1990, partly because doctors induce labor more often. C-sections have increased by more than 50 percent in the past decade and are now the most commonly performed surgery in the country. [...]

[Star Tribune, May 26, 2010] The chief executive of Allina Hospitals & Clinics is voluntarily working without pay until the Twin Cities’ biggest hospital chain reaches an agreement with its nurses. After Twin Cities nurses voted overwhelmingly to authorize a one-day strike last week, Ken Paulus sent an e-mail to all Allina employees saying he [...]

[Star Tribune, May 15, 2010] As the weeks passed this spring, Anna Linck’s heart condition grew progressively worse, and death closed in. The 24-year-old Long Lake woman needed a new heart—and fast. Just down the hall at Abbott Northwestern Hospital, 30-year-old Keilee-Rae Miller, a Richfield resident, was on the list for a new heart, too. [...]

[Star Tribune, April 21, 2010] Medical assistants aid in and perform procedures in a clinic, under the supervision of a physician. Employers may require them to be certified in this field, which can help workers discern other health care careers they might want to pursue. Clinicals often lead to jobs, according to Karen Tennis, RN, [...]

[Star Tribune, April 20, 2010] Two Minneapolis doctors who were the first to speak out about a potentially deadly defect in a popular model of heart defibrillator made by the Guidant division of Boston Scientific Corp. have asked a federal judge to reject a $296 million plea agreement that would settle the case. In an [...]

[Minneapolis Star Tribune, April 21, 2010] Since 2007, the federal agency that runs Medicare has compiled data to grade hospitals. Using its vast database (Medicare covers more than 44 million people) and controlling for the fact that some hospitals see more severe cases than others, it has tracked patients with three common conditions: heart attacks, [...]

[Star Tribune, April 18, 2010] MinuteClinic launched its new chronic-condition monitoring service with an eye to the many patients who don’t have primary care providers. During an interview, MinuteClinic Chief Andrew Sussman, MD, said the Monitoring Made Easy program complements partnerships with health systems like Allina Hospitals & Clinics. Read the full story on startribune.com.

[Star Tribune, April 16, 2010 ] A revamped state health care program for about 37,000 of the poorest and sickest Minnesotans will start June 1. But with funding cut to one-fourth of the projected costs, it appears that only five of 17 qualifying hospitals have agreed to provide the care. Hospitals that have told legislators [...]

[Star Tribune, April 2, 2010] Tanning salon owners are angry over a little-known piece of the new health care bill that place a new 10 percent tax on tanning businesses. Dr. Greg Plotnikoff, medical director of Allina’s Penny George Institute for Health and Healing, is an evangelist for pushing people to get more Vitamin D, [...]

[Star Tribune, March 26, 2010] Legend has it that Philippides, a Greek messenger, inspired the first marathon when he ran 26 miles from the city of that name to Athens to report the outcome of a battle. As he reached the marketplace, he reportedly gasped, “We have won,” and dropped dead. To Dr. Robert Schwartz, [...]

[Star Tribune, Mar. 10, 2010] Doug State entered hospice care two years ago knowing exactly how he wanted to die: at home in Cambridge, Minn., with his wife, Carol, and his dog, Teddy. He got his wish a year ago at age 83, when his failing heart finally stopped just as he was sitting down [...]

[Star Tribune, Feb. 26, 2010] “I’m celebrating a birthday today for my friend Genard Lane. Actually, we’re toasting his heart, which has reached the ripe old age of 45. And what a heart it is.” The story began in 1986, when Genard was 47 and his own diseased heart was failing. Things looked so bleak [...]

[Star Tribune, Feb. 22, 2010] Last summer, Steven Erickson was in such sad shape he could barely make it out to his vegetable garden without huffing and puffing. To combat frequent chest pain, he was popping about 100 nitroglycerin pills every three days or so. The conundrum facing Erickson’s doctor and many others — finding [...]

[Minneapolis, Feb. 22, 2010] Everyday choices such as what you eat and whether you exercise directly influence your physiology, brain chemistry and mood, making stress seem insurmountable to some and manageable to others. Adequate downtime, along with simple choices about food, sleep and exercise directly influence your physiology, brain chemistry, mood and ability to cope [...]

[Star Tribune, Jan. 29, 2010] If a final health bill passes—and that’s a big if—it’s likely to include a payment formula that would reward efficient, high-quality providers. Leading a coalition of hospitals from the Midwest and Pacific Northwest, Mayo Clinic proposed a radical new payment formula, called a “value index.” Instead of paying the same [...]

[Start Tribune, Jan. 24, 2010] Most Minnesotans can probably relate to the winter morning thought, “I don’t want to get up; I just want to stay snuggled in my warm, cozy bed!” But for people with seasonal affective disorder (SAD), getting out of bed — and all the routines and responsibilities that follow — can [...]

[Star Tribune, Jan. 22, 2010] The testimony of children treated by Sister Kenny has inspired a new play, “Sister Kenny,” at the History Theatre. It tells the story of the pioneering physical therapist who established a clinic in Minneapolis, now called the Sister Kenny Rehabilitation Institute that is part of Allina Hospitals & Clinics, for [...]