TCMS Austin Lifestyle Magazine #2

austinlifestylemagazine.com 79

ke

ep

au

st

in w

el

l

keep austin wellYour Guide to LivinG WeLL everY daY

80 austinlifestylemagazine.com

editor

Stephanie triggs

contributing writers

Philip Huang, md, mPH, Carole Barasch

photographers

Cover photographed by William Jennings

art director

tyler Lee

sales inquiries

[email protected]

contact us

[email protected]

about tcMs

the travis County Medical Society is a component society of the

texas Medical association, a statewide professional organiza-

tion of licensed physicians. its more than 3,100 members include

approximately ninety percent of all practicing physicians in the

Greater austin area. in addition to activities promoting high stan-

dards of medical practice, the Society provides representation and

advocacy for patients and physicians at all levels of government

and medicine.

contents

81 Letter from the editor

82 Collaborating for Children: a Plan to

Mobilize Health Care Professionals in the

Fight against Childhood obesity

84 Helping Haiti: First Hand accounts of

the earthquake aftermath

86 Bats return to austin: Know How to

Protect Yourself

88 tobacco use: Helping travis County

Quit for Good

Keep Austin Well

Your Guide to LivinG WeLL everY daY

Physicians you know, names you trust.

SPECIALIZING IN: THERMAGE

VEIN TREATMENTS ACTIVEFX & DEEPFX

FRACTIONAL LASER TREATMENTSLASER HAIR REMOVAL

FOTOFACIAL FOTOFACIAL BOTOX

MICRODERMABRASION ACNE TREATMENTS

CHEMICAL PEELS DERMAL FILLERS

DYSPORT

To learn more, cal l us regarding our spr ing open house

providing excel lent & af fordablecosmetic skincare s ince 2000


ke

ep

au

st

in w

el

lFrom tCMS

dear readers,

Congress recently enacted health system reform legislation that hopefully will expand

access to health care for millions of americans. However, the new law did not address

a looming problem that may threaten access to medical care for millions of patients on

Medicare – the government’s largest health care program that covers senior citizens and

people with disabilities, as well as military families covered by triCare.

the problem was created ten years ago in legislation that requires Medicare pay-

ments to physicians to be modified annually using the Sustainable Growth rate

(SGr) formula. While unintentional, the SGr formula is fatally flawed in that it man-

dates physician fee cuts almost every year. For a decade, Congress has only applied

temporary Band-aids by extending implementation of the formula, thus putting off

a permanent fix. this year Congress had the opportunity to fix the Medicare reim-

bursement formula once and for all as a part of the most sweeping health system

reform legislation in history. But they didn’t.

So ten years after SGr was created, its flawed formula actually took effect on april 1

with a 21% cut in Medicare reimbursement rates for physician services. it will drive

doctors with large Medicare practices financially into the red and possibly out of the

program. the last thing we doctors want is to have to tell our Medicare patients that

we can no longer afford to care for them.

on april 5, physicians and patients from across the state and nation united to

launch a petition drive led by the texas Medical association to collect 1 million

signatures. the petition simply asks Congress to stop the Medicare meltdown so

patients can choose their doctors and their doctors can stay in the program.

Congress knows about the problem. Congress knows that it jeopardizes access

to care for Medicare patients. and Congress knows they can fix it.

Please make your voice heard to ensure Medicare patients have a doctor to care

for them when they need one! Tell Congress to finish its work and permanently fix

the Medicare SGR formula. Go to www.ipetitions.com/petition/meltdown and sign

the petition today.

Live well, austin!

C. Mark Chassay, Md vivek Mahendru, Md

President, tCMS Chair, tCMS Public relations

Committee

ke

ep

au

st

in w

el

l


ke

ep

au

st

in w

el

l

T he texas Center for the Prevention and treatment of

Childhood obesity (tCPtCo) has been established in austin

at dell Children’s Medical Center of Central texas, a member of

the Seton Family of Hospitals. Founded by Stephen Pont, M.d., M.P.H,

FaaP; Kimberly avila edwards, M.d., FaaP; and child psychologist

Jane Gray, Ph.d.; the tCPtCo will involve multiple elements neces-

sary to treat and prevent childhood obesity in our region, including

a multidisciplinary obesity clinic, education, advocacy and research.

the tCPtCo, funded through the generous support of the Michael

& Susan dell Foundation, represents a collaboration between dell

Children’s, the university of texas Southwestern Medical School at

dallas – austin Programs, ut austin and the texas Child Study Center.

the tCPtCo builds upon the success of the healthy living

happy living / Vida sana Vida Feliz multidisciplinary family-

based childhood obesity intervention at dell Children’s that cele-

brated its first anniversary in January. this clinician-led, ten-week

program has been presented to more than one hundred children

in the area, in both english and Spanish, since it began. Children

and their parents have been able to participate thanks to the sup-

port of multiple local and regional philanthropic foundations –

including generous contributions from the austin Community

Foundation, the rGK Foundation, the aetna Foundation and the St.

david’s Foundation – demonstrating broad and substantial com-

munity commitment, support and readiness for the development

and implementation of a childhood obesity center.

the clinical component of the tCPtCo will provide coordinated,

multidisciplinary care to treat the varied physical and psychosocial

conditions associated with overweight and obese children. experts

in pediatric medicine, pediatric psychology and behavior change,

nutrition and physical therapy will be involved in providing treat-

ment based on the most current, evidence-based recommendations

from the american academy of Pediatrics, the american Medical

association, and other national professional societies and institu-

tions. the multidisciplinary team will work together to individualize

treatment for each child and families will be integrally involved in fos-

tering, supporting and maintaining the needed behavioral, nutrition

Collaborating For ChildrenA Plan to Mobilize Health Care Professionals in the Fight Against Childhood Obesity

35%of students in grades

3 to 12

overweight or obese.

from our own

Austin ISD are

Health issues from excess weight include :Heart Disease, Stroke, High Blood Pressure Cancera

nd

with an expected cost 15.6 Billion Dollarsin two-thousand ten of $39 Billion in

75% of adultsw i l l b e OBESE in

2040

For the 1st time in American History...the lifespan of this generation

the lifespanof their parents<

Type 2 Diabetes, Asthma, Sleep Apnea, Gallblader Disease, Hypertension, Colon & Cervical Cancer, Congestive Heart Failure, Ovarian Cancer, Postmenopausal Breast Cancer Osteoarthritis and much much more....

Texas: fourty-six percent of kids meet daily recommendations for exercise and only twenty-two percent get theirrecommended servings of fruits or vegetables


ke

ep

au

st

in w

el

l

2303 RANCH ROAD 620 SOUTH • SU ITE 140 • AUST IN, TX 787345 1 2 . 2 6 3 . 8 2 8 4 • w w w . A u s t i n H e a l t h y D e n t i s t . c o m

Come see why patients travel to Austin from all over the United States for their comprehensive care by one of our fabulous female doctors.

Go to our website and listen to what other patients are saying about their dental experience.

and physical activity changes. the texas Child Study Center, an out-

patient mental health collaboration between dell Children’s and ut

austin educational Psychology department, will provide direct access

to mental health services for the center’s patients.

initiatives and best practices developed and implemented at the

tCPtCo will be disseminated to local practitioners by leveraging

resources already present at dell Children’s including lay and pro-

fessional publications, telemedicine and regional continuing medical

education events. in addition, the educational arm for the center will

specifically include education for current and future practitioners.

While the diagnosis and treatment of obesity and its comorbidi-

ties is a much-needed service that will be provided by the founding

clinicians, drs. Pont, avila edwards and Gray are well-aware that the

solutions to the childhood obesity epidemic must also include the

community outside the clinic walls. in line with the educational and

advocacy arms of the tCPtCo, the three clinicians joined with the

texas Pediatric Society (tPS) on Saturday, March 27, to launch the first

in a series of statewide training seminars that are designed to mobilize

health care professionals in the fight against childhood obesity. With

dr. avila edwards as the project lead, the tPS received a grant from the

national initiative for Children’s Healthcare Quality as part of the Be

our voice advocacy training initiative. through this initiative, funded

by a grant from the robert Wood Johnson Foundation, health care

providers are given the advocacy tools, resources and ongoing sup-

port needed to implement evidence-based strategies for community

change that will support obesity prevention. this project is imple-

mented in collaboration with the american academy of Pediatrics, the

California Medical Foundation and the robert Wood Johnson Center

for the Prevention of Childhood obesity.

research will be a core component of the tCPtCo to advance

knowledge, document success and expand services. the tCPtCo

anticipates obtaining direct funding for research projects and also will

collaborate and serve as a clinical translational research link between

the bench research at the dell Pediatric research institute and the

community/school-based research of Michael & Susan dell Center

for the advancement of Healthy Living, housed within the ut School

of Public Health, austin regional Campus.

For more information, please visit: the texas Center for the

Prevention and treatment of Childhood obesity (www.dellchild-

rens.net/healthyliving). empowering families to live healthy, happy

lives via the CL-e-a-r components :

• evidence based multidisciplinary CLinical treatment

• Patient, community, and student/trainee Education

• Community Advocacy and capacity building, through serving as a

resource and partner for health-related collaborative community

efforts

• novel Research to advance knowledge, document success and

expand services.


ke

ep

au

st

in w

el

l

T he travis County Medical Society has a strong commitment to

community – close to home and far away – especially when

disaster strikes in the form of a hurricane or earthquake. after

a magnitude 7.0 earthquake hit Haiti on January 12, physicians,

hospitals and pharmacies donated needed medical supplies and

made financial contributions to relief efforts.

Medical teams including tCMS physicians traveled to Haiti with

various relief agencies to assist with the country’s medical needs.

Below are excerpts from their experiences.

January 16By the time we hit the ground in

Port-au-Prince, we had a well-

organized team of sixteen.

there were ten physicians,

two surgical techs, three nurses,

and one pastor/photographer. i

took the approach that this is a

military operation and i mentally

put on a “suit of armor” to be able

to do what i knew was ahead. i

thought i had seen it all, and

have been in a lot of situations

over the years − in india, africa,

and even my residency in down-

town detroit couldn’t prepare me

for the utter devastation i saw,

inflicted on so many. it’s what i

would imagine the aftermath of

large-scale war would look like.…

as the week ended, that bul-

letproof armor was soaked with

tears and sweat − my tears and

my sweat, mixed with those of

patients and team members

who would now become lifelong

friends. there was no protection

from the love and suffering of the

Haitian people and both pierced

my heart, changing it forever.

the moment i arrived home, i

started planning my return to

Mission of Hope with my wife.

We are in it for the long run!

tiMotHY C. GueraMY, Md

Medical Park Orthopaedic Clinic

www.facebook.com/

austinmedicalreliefforhaiti

January 28today our team members have

been in town helping at the gen-

eral clinic. they saw over one

hundredpatients in the clinic

at MoH today; mostly general

medical issues, several fore-

arm fractures, distal radius frac-

tures in kids. they are having

some amputees coming back

for evaluation. there is more

time for organization of long

term medical care at MoH. the

goal is to get patients where they

need to be and the long term

care that they will need to have.

JoeL H. Hurt, Md

Texas Orthopedics

http://txortho.blogspot.com

February 1We departed the dominican

republic by bus and crossed into

Haiti in the early morning hours,

arriving in Port-au-Prince mid-

morning.the devastation, loss

of human lives, and destroyed

property was mind-numbing.

united nations’ cars and vari-

ous aid groups and personnel

were ubiquitous. tent cities were

everywhere.

in the following days, we

held clinics in three different

areas, serving more than 1,200

gracious and deserving Haitian

patients. We were able to offer

pain relief, sleep aid medication,

vitamins, antibiotics, wound

care,immunizations against

tetanus and piperazine,(a liquid

medication taken by mouth for

the treatment of intestinal para-

sites). in addition, we distributed

food donations to each family.

david vander Straten, Md

CommUnityCare

February 15it was a hurried start, with lost

bags and found bags – touch

down! Looking out amongst the

rubble and trash everywhere, you

see lines of people celebrating

a national day of prayer. the air

is warm and dusty. orientation

was filled with fear and disbelief

as our hearts went out to those

involved in the earthquake stories

we heard. there was calmness

despite the circumstances amid

the patients in the ward many of

which had neglected fractures

and infected wounds. i worked

on a twenty year old who lost both

parents; her foot will never be

the same. the team worked well

together today. the night time is

cooler with few mosquitoes. now,

it’s time to rest.

J. Brannan SMoot, Md

Texas Orthopedics

www.facebook.com/mohhaiti

Helping HaitiFirst Hand Accounts of the Earthquake Aftermath

above, top: Patients waiting to be seen

by the medical team. Note the number

of fractured bones from falling cinder

blocks; above, middle: Team members

stayed in tents on the Mission of Hope

compound. The building has a small

kitchen, three bathrooms, and nor-

mally holds about 25 guests. 75 people

were using the facility at a time; above,

bottom: Tim Gueramy, MD, Joel Hurt,

MD, and the OR Team operating on a

young girl.


Comprehensive care with a personal touch...

1221 West Ben White Blvd., Suite 110A

(512) 443-5813www.naturaltoothfairy.com

Cosmetic and Holistic Dentistry

• General and Cosmetic Dentistry

• Limited Root Canal Treatment

• Limited Oral Surgery

• Teeth Whitening

• Non-surgical Treatment of Periodontal Disease

• Safe Metal Removal

• Laser Therapies Available

We accept Care Credit

5 4 5 0 B e e C a v e s R o a d , S u i t e 1 E • A u s t i n

Dr. Liesa Harte, a board-certified MD, creates a 100% customized weight loss plan based on your medical history and lifestyle. Get the results you’re looking for with: • Medication, including HCG – a prescription medication that reduces appetite & increases fat metabolism to help you safely lose weight.• Nutrition counseling that shows you how to give your body what it needs, without feeling deprived. • Lifestyle counseling to help you identify & overcome your emotional & psychological barriers to weight loss.• Dr. Liesa’s personal care, with the accurate information & support you need to make changes that last!

Over the past 17 years Dr. Liesa has developed a passion for helping people prevent disease and live vibrant, healthy lives at every age. Dr. Liesa’s private

Austin practice is the fulfillment of a dream… to provide a unique healthcare experience and a deeper level of personalized care that makes a lasting difference in the lives of her patients.

MD-directed weight loss: The fast, effective & safe way to finally reach your goals.

Lose up to1 pound

every day with all-natural

HCG

FREE private consultationMeet with Dr. Liesa to find out how she can help you

get control of your weight and enjoy the happier, healthier life you deserve.

(512) 961-8863©

HSS

200

9

AD_AustLife_Harte.indd 1 10/20/09 8:25:20 AM


ke

ep

au

st

in w

el

l

A ustin is once again home to the largest urban bat colony in

north america. While bats contribute greatly to our eco-

system, you need to know how to protect yourself around

these animals.

Bats can enter homes, apartments and businesses through

unscreened windows and open doors and will generally leave on their

own if given the chance. if you find a bat in a room, open windows,

turn on lights, and then leave the room and close the door to keep

children and pets out of the area. it can take up to 18 hours for a bat

to leave a resting place, so you may have to check the area every few

hours to see if the bat has departed.

do not try to catch a bat you find in a room unless testing is neces-

sary because a person or pet has been sleeping in the room while the bat

was present. if you must remove the bat from its resting place, wear thick

leather gloves and carefully place a wide-mouthed cup, jar, or can over

the resting bat. Carefully slip a piece of cardboard between the opening

and the resting surface then take the container outdoors to release the bat.

• never handle a bat – alive or dead – with your bare hands!

• Keep people and pets away from a sick, injured, or dead bat and

call animal control at 3-1-1.

rabies exposure occurs only when a person is bitten or scratched

by a potentially rabid bat or other animal, or when abrasions, open

wounds, or mucous membranes are contaminated with the saliva,

brain, or nervous system tissue of a potentially rabid animal.

it may take several weeks or longer for people to show symp-

toms after being infected with rabies. the early signs of rabies can

be fever or headache, but this changes quickly to nervous system

signs such as confusion, sleepiness, or agitation. once someone

with a rabies infection starts having these symptoms, the person

usually does not survive. this is why it is critical to talk to your doc-

tor or health care provider immediately if any animal bites you –

especially a wild animal.

if you or anyone you know could have been in contact with a bat,

please call the austin/travis County Health and Human Services’ disease

and Surveillance unit at 972-5555 or your local health care provider.

The Bats Return to AustinKnow How to Protect Yourself

CaroLe BaraSCH

Manager-Communications & Community Development

Austin / Travis County Health & Human Services

ke

ep

au

st

in w

el

l

THE FIRST AND ONLY

IN CENTRAL TEXAS!

Located at the Parmer Lane exit of MoPac Expressway (Loop 1) on the campus of St. David’s North Austin Medical Center

aaobgyn.com | 512.451.8211Mark Akin, MD | Robert Cowan, MD | Screven Edgerton, MD | Jennifer Mushtaler, MD | Michael Phillips, MD | Christopher Seeker, MD | Marco Uribe, MD

Austin Area OB/GYN is transforming the way you think of surgery. We are the first and only in Central Texas

to perform single-incision hysterectomies using the next generation FDA approved SILS™ procedure.

Call Us Today! Find out if you are a candidate for this groundbreaking procedure.

Single-Incision Hysterectomies Through the Belly Button


ke

ep

au

st

in w

el

l

D id you know that tobacco use remains the single greatest

cause of preventable disease, disability and death in the

nation, texas, and travis County? tobacco use is a major

risk factor for multiple cancers, heart disease, stroke and lung dis-

ease. approximately twenty-four thousand adults die of a smoking-

attributable illness annually in texas. that is more than die from aidS,

heroin, cocaine, alcohol, car accidents, fire, and murder – combined.

For every one person who dies from tobacco-related causes, there

are twenty more people who are suffering with at least one serious

illness from smoking.

Smoking is also a health threat to nonsmokers. Secondhand

smoke contains a complex mixture of over four thousand chemicals,

more than fifty of which are cancer-causing agents (carcinogens).

Secondhand smoke is associated with an increased risk for lung can-

cer and coronary heart disease in non-smoking adults. Because their

lungs are not fully developed, young children are particularly vulner-

able to secondhand smoke. exposure to secondhand smoke is associ-

ated with an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SidS),

asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia in young children.

in addition to the health-related costs of tobacco use, it also costs

our businesses and taxpayers money. in 1999, tobacco-related dis-

ease cost the state approximately $10 billion ($4.5 billion in direct

medical costs and an additional $5.5 billion in lost worker produc-

tivity). in 1998, about 15% ($1,265,000,000 or $543.87 per recipient) of

all Medicaid expenditures were spent on smoking-related illnesses

and diseases.

despite all these risks, approximately 18.5% of adults in travis

County still smoke cigarettes. that is why it is a tremendous opportu-

nity for our community to be receiving $7,473,150 in federal stimulus

funds from the Centers for disease Control and Prevention over the

next two years to decrease tobacco use and decrease exposure to sec-

ondhand tobacco smoke. the grant focuses on policies, systems and

environmental changes to reduce the burden of chronic disease.

the austin/travis County Health and Human Services department

(a/tCHHS) is the lead agency for this effort and activities are being

designed to prevent and reduce tobacco use by working with com-

munity partners in schools, worksites, health care settings, faith-based

organizations, retail settings and the media.

Key activities will be to: assist major health care providers and

substance abuse facilities in referring to telephone quitline ser-

vices or to other local community cessation services; reduce youth

access to tobacco products and marketing; implement extensive

media education campaigns to promote a tobacco-free lifestyle and

counteract tobacco industry promotions; and promote worksite and

other tobacco-free settings in an effort to protect the public from the

harms of secondhand smoke and increase access to clean air.

if you want to quit using tobacco products today or you are taking

the first steps toward quitting and need assistance, there are resources

for you. Contact Megan Cermak, program coordinator for a/tCHHS’s

austin tobacco Prevention and Control Coalition for more informa-

tion and resources at 512-972-6763 or [email protected].

texas Quitline Call 1-800-YES-QUIT for free advice and counseling on how

to stop smoking. The Quitline is open from 7 am–9 pm Monday

through Thursday, 7 am–7 pm on Friday, and 8 am–4:30 pm Saturday

and Sunday. Austin residents also are eligible for free nicotine

replacement therapy through the Quitline.

Tobacco Use:Helping Travis County Quit for Good BY PHiLiP HuanG, Md, MPH

Medical Director / Health Authority

Austin/Travis County Health and Human Services Department

Documents

TCMS Austin Lifestyle Magazine #2